Head coach Hugo Broos has explained why he believes Nigeria will change their approach when facing Bafana Bafana since the two nations' last meeting at the Africa Cup of Nations.
South Africa is set to go head-to-head with the Super Eagles on Friday evening in Uyo, Nigeria in what will be the first of two 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers for Broos' men.
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The clash will be a replay of the AFCON semi-final meeting between the two teams, in which Nigeria walked away victorious via a penalty shootout after a goalless stalemate.
Ahead of Friday's match though, Broos has insisted that his side will not be plotting 'revenge' on their West African rivals.
"No, we just want to have a good result against Nigeria because this is a qualifier for the World Cup, we are not thinking about revenge, we are not thinking about anything [else]," Broos told journalists at the pre-match press conference.
"Losing the game should not be a disaster because after that we still have six games to play. But I would rather not have a defeat to Nigeria.
"We know all about them, but they also know all about us. I think they will not start the game with the same mentality they had at AFCON because they know how strong we are.
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"We have to use our status of being the team that finished third at AFCON, but at the same time we must stay humble.
"We must not think now that we are tough. We still have to work, fight and produce the same mentality we showed at AFCON.
"But I think it's different, how they will approach the game from Nigeria's side. They have a new coach and some new players."
The match is scheduled to kick-off at 21:00.
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