Confident Bafana Bafana don’t skrik for Nigeria.
The two rivals meet in Wednesday’s 9pm Afcon 2019 quarterfinal at the Cairo International Stadium.
In 14 head-to-head encounters, the Super Eagles have won seven matches and Bafana two.
But both those victories came in the last three meetings between the two teams, the other one ended in a draw.
Their unbeaten run is fresh in the mind of Bafana midfielder Dean Furman, as SA won 2-0 in Uyo before a 1-1 Soccer City stalemate in their qualification campaign for Egypt.
Bafana Bafana getting ready for the Super Eagles of Nigeria on Wednesday.
Kick off 21h00 pic.twitter.com/kGIg0nrl4d
— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana) July 8, 2019
And thanks to Saturday’s stunning 1-0 knockout of hosts the Pharaohs, Furman and his teammates are flying high.
But they know that they can’t take anything for granted after scraping through the group stages and won’t take Odion Ighalo, Alex Iwobi and Ahmed Musa lightly.
Furman says: “It’s gonna be tough. We had Nigeria in our qualifying group. We beat them away and drew with them at home.
DANGEROUS OPPONENTS: Nigeria eliminated Afcon holders Cameroon. Photo: Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Reuters.
“They are a top side and have many great players. So we are looking forward to it.
“They know us well and we know them well and we’re excited to face them.”
Bafana’s Cairo goal hero Thembinkosi Lorch got his first start in the clash against Egypt after being overlooked in the group stage and will be hoping to play his part against the Nigerians.
We're at the business end of the tournament - just another 8⃣ matches to go.
QF: #SENBEN| #NGARSA| #CIVALG| #MADTUN #TotalAFCON2019 pic.twitter.com/9DNW7qgGEd
— CAF (@CAF_Online) July 8, 2019
Asked if he has a point to prove, the Orlando Pirates ace says: “No.”
The PSL Player of the Season adds: “There is confidence. We all believe that everything is possible and we must keep that going
forward.
“It’s like a derby. I’m used to it – like [Kaizer] Chiefs versus Pirates. You just tell myself there is nothing to it and play your normal game.”