Afcon 2013: South Africa bank on magical crowd

• Print PDF

A capacity filled stadium with vuvuzelas blaring to the loudest is expected Saturday when  Bafana Bafana step out for their African Nations Cup opener against the Cape Verde Islands.

Plea

Coach Gordon Igesund's call for fans to back South Africa despite the team's mediocre performances have been answered and a sell-out crowd is on the card today.

The home side have been under pressure and Saturday's clash with the Cape Verde Islands, who eliminated Cameroon in the qualifiers, offers the prospect of a nervy start to the 16-nation, 32-match, three-week tournament.

Cape Verde with a population of just about half a million are the smallest country to ever qualify for the finals.

-It's our dream that we all have to continue our hard work and progress in this game, said coach Lucio Antunes.

Other game

Angola and Morocco - the two other teams in Group A - will play in the second match of a double-header at Soccer City.

Both countries have changed coaches and altered the look of their squads 12 months after they bombed out at the first stage of the last tournament in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

This Nations Cup is taking place a year after the last because the tournament dates are being changed from every even to every odd year.