Bafana defender Thapelo Morena knows South Africa needs to put in a top performance to overturn Congo in their Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.
South Africa defied their critics with a run to the semi-finals of the recent Africa Cup of Nations.
They have, however, struggled in their two qualifiers, needing late a late goal to draw 2-2 with Uganda and again in their narrow 3-2 victory over South Sudan, with an injured Thalente Mbatha the hero in both games.
They next face a Congo side that beat South Sudan 1-0 and lost 2-0 to Uganda.
Morena has called on his teammates to sure up their defence and be more clinical in front of goal.
He said on IOL: “I think the most important thing is that the coach has given us information about opponents, and we’ve done our debrief so we know where we need to improve.
“We watched the Congo team playing. The most important thing is to make sure that we try and get our playing skills and structure right, we convert our chances. That’s the most important thing and the big one also is to defend very well, because that’s the main issue that we have been struggling with. But yeah, we need to do our level best to get the maximum points.
“I think we’ve been doing very well away, but the most important thing is to also do well at home. And if we win at home, the game is going to be open when we go for the second leg. So, what we need to also do like I said, we convert our chances and defend well. That’s the ultimate goal for us.”