Egypt – Bafana Bafana have been drawn against Mauritius in the preliminary stage of the Orange African Nations Championship (Chan) Rwanda 2016 qualifiers.
The draw was conducted at the Caf Headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.
Bafana coach Shakes Mashaba said on Tuesday his charges would not underestimate their opposition.
“Some may be thinking we are playing Mauritius so it will be a walk in the park, but there are no easy teams anymore in international football,” said Mashaba.
“Every team wants to do well and if they believe you are a powerhouse they come to you firing on all cylinders, so we must prepare well and work hard for our success.”
South Africa are among 42 teams that will be taking part in the qualifiers – these will produce 15 finalists who will join hosts Rwanda at the tournament scheduled to take place from January 16 to February 7 2016.
Bafana will host Mauritius on the weekend of June 19-21, while the return leg will be held two weeks later.
Should South Africa proceed to the next stage, the First Round, they will then face the winner between Swaziland and Angola with the first leg scheduled for weekend of October 16-18. The second leg will be played a fortnight later.
“The last time, we did not do well at home in the Chan tournament and many will still be making reference to that so we have to improve on that,” said Mashaba.
“We need to pick a strong team that will represent this country well because we have many capable players who are home-based and can hold their own against other nations. I am confident we will succeed.” - ANA