Cape Verde coach Lucio Antunes says that his team are under no pressure to perform compared to South Africa who is hosting the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.
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Cape Verde are at their very first continental tournament and have adopted an attitude of working hard and simply doing their best, unlike Bafana Bafana, who have serious expectations.
The Blue Sharks qualified for the tournament at the expense of Cameroon, whom they beat once in the qualifying rounds.
The debutants were drawn in to Group A with Bafana, the 2010 hosts Angola and 1976 winners Morocco, all of whom have appeared at the AFCON before.
"The pressure will be on South Africa," Antunes said. "We are here, we are happy to be here. There is no pressure to play good football. We qualified for this tournament; that is a big deal for our country.
Bafana won the tournament when SA hosted it for the first time in 1996, which was also the first time they competed in the continental showpiece.
The memories of winning that trophy are far from forgotten and in fact it is this piece of history that's piling pressure on the home side according to Antunes.
"It's totally different for Bafana Bafana because they are the hosting country and the fans will put pressure on them. They are a big team, there are expectations on them.
"We have worked very hard to be here. We don't have any top players in our team, we play as a team. We work hard; the players are determined to write history.
"My advice to them is to keep working like that because when you succeed for the first time the people will be waiting for more success, but honestly success only comes from hard work."
The eyes of Africa will be focused on the National Stadium this Saturday evening when Bafana face the Blue Sharks in the tournament's opening game.
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