Bafana Bafana boss Gordon Igesund is all too aware of the danger posed by Morocco ahead of his side's crunch Africa Cup of Nations clash on Sunday.
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The two teams face off at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in what is a must-win clash for Morocco who are without a victory after two matches, having stumbled to draws against Angola and Cape Verde.
Conversely South Africa are riding a wave of euphoria following their rousing 2-0 victory over Angola on Wednesday.
Despite the difficult situation that Morocco find themselves in, Igesund won't be taking the Atlas Lions lightly - although he believes that his side could benefit from their desperation.
"I don't think that we have to shy away from the fact that Morocco is a good footballing country and they always have a top, top team," he said. "As you know some of their players play for Liverpool, Galatasaray, Fiorentina so they have a good team.
"I'm expecting - and actually hoping - that they will come at us tomorrow because if they do that then it is going to be a very open game and I would like to back ourselves in that situation," he added.
"We know what they need to do, they need to win the game and that is the bottom line. A lot of teams we've played against have just had 10 players behind the ball and if we come up against a team that is a bit more open we are not going to defend, we're going to make sure that we can score some goals.
"So I think it will be a very interesting game and it is dangerous against a team that has nothing to lose, they take risks and we must be prepared that when we take those risks that we can capitalise on them."
There is a sense that Bafana Bafana have achieved something great already, however, with just one win to their name and qualification not yet assured the host's campaign could still end in an early elimination - a fact Igesund is well aware of.
"We haven't conceded a goal which is fantastic, we've been getting better as we get along and we've won our first game in the AFCON," explained the former Orlando Pirates boss.
"It's nice, it's very exciting, but we know that we've got a big job to do on Sunday and after that game we'll know where we are but we haven't done that job yet."
Forward Tokelo Rantie has been under an injury cloud after hurting his ankle against Angola and his participation remains in doubt but Lehlohonolo Majoro could make a surprise return.
"Rantie didn't do anything yesterday and had treatment over night, a lot of ice on [his ankle] and we're giving him a match fitness test this afternoon," explained Igesund.
"Other than that Majoro is definitely out... but the doctor was talking to me now and saying that if we really need him we can risk it, so that is something to think about but no decision has been made yet."





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