Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos knows his side faces a tough test of their credentials against Uganda in their opening Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Friday.
South Africa are a much-improved side under current coach Hugo Broos and have lost just two of their previous 16 competitive matches.
They impressed during their run to the semi-finals of the 2023 AFCON in the Ivory Coast before succumbing to losing finalists Nigeria and are also in control of their World Cup aspirations, in second place in Group C with seven points from four games played.
Uganda, meanwhile, last qualified for AFCON in 2019 where they made it to the round of 16 and a hard-fought defeat to Senegal.
Paul Put’s Cranes narrowly missed on qualifying for the 2023 AFCON by finishing third in their group with seven points, just one point behind Tanzania and will be eager to take their place in Morocco next year.
They come into this game on the back of a 2-1 home defeat by Algeria in World Cup qualifiers and are currently in fifth place in their group with six points.
South Africa and Uganda have only met four times since 2004, with the former winning three and drawing one of those meetings.
Their most recent encounter was a friendly in 2021 where Bafana came from behind to claim a 3-2 victory.
Themba Zwane will captain Broos’ team at the Orlando Stadium and away against South Sudan in their second AFCON qualifier on Tuesday with Ronwen Williams still in recovery for a shoulder injury.
For the Cranes, defenders Halid Lwaliwa and Kenneth Ssemakula miss this clash due to visa issues but will be available for their upcoming game against Congo.
Ahead of the game, the Bafana boss said in the Sowetan: We are confident and we believe in ourselves that we will start these AFCON qualifiers very well.
“It’s very important, when you play qualifiers, to have a good start. When you have a good start you put pressure on your opponents and when you don’t, it’s just the opposite and we have to avoid that.
“There are some good individuals in both teams, so that means we must be at our level best.
“We have the quality to win both games and we are confident but that doesn’t mean we have to underestimate our opponents.”
Broos added: “With the quality we have and the status we have now, being ranked 10th in Africa, we want to try to stay there. We can stay there by getting good results in the next three months in Afcon qualifiers.
“I don’t think we can be happy if we don’t get six points from these two qualifiers.”
Put replaced Milutin Sredojevic after the Serbian coached failed to guide Uganda to the previous AFCON.
He has plenty of experience, having been in charge a number of club and international teams, namely The Gambia, Burkina Faso, USM Alger, Kenya, and most recently the Congo.
He said on MTN Uganda: “I love what I am seeing so far. The energy, teamwork, and positive spirit. These will be crucial in this fight.
“I have been to five AFCON finals, and I want to add to that number with this team. This group has what it takes to qualify, but we have to work for it.
“We have to fight for the right to be in Morocco next year, and the fight starts this Friday against South Africa.”