Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter has given his thoughts on the team's progression to the last 16, where they will face hosts Egypt.
Bafana finished as one of the four third best place teams and will now have the tough task of trying to knockout an Egyptian side high on confidence after finishing the round robin phase with straight victories in Group A.
Bafana, meanwhile, did not have a great good stage campaign, winning one and losing the other two matches.
Many, particularly supporters on social media, have been saying Bafana have gone through to the next round via the "back door", as Bafana needed to rely on results elsewhere to qualify for the last 16.
"It's a great challenge and obviously it's one that the whole squad is looking forward to. I think the groups have for the most part been very tight. Our group was really tight. It was seconds away from almost every game being a different game, so the people that think 'well you've gone through the back door', you know we were seconds away from going through on our own power and people would have then said 'well that was a great performance'.
"But that's what our game is about, it's about perceptions isn't it? One refereeing decision, or one missed shot, or one mistake changes perception. So we've got this opportunity to play the host nation in front of a load of people, in a very hostile environment, and that's the time you want people to stand up. The group is looking forward to it.
"The word 'need' is not in the language. It's not a must, it's a want. They want to go [further] and they have strong reasons to want to do it and I think that's the main thing. That's got to be the motivation."