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The match will be played on Sunday at the National Stadium. Kick-off is at 18:30 South African time.
Watched by a crowd of about 2000 spectators and under temperatures rising to 31 degrees celsius, coach Pitso Mosimane took the players through their paces for about an hour before calling a halt to the proceedings.
South Africa arrived in Freetown after a 13-hour travel that included two fuel stops in Namibia and Sao Tome. At the Lungi Airport in Freetown, the squad was met by fans who indicated that the hosts will have an easy victory. The players showed no signs of fatigue when they took to the field on Saturday afternoon for their one and only practice in Sierra Leone.
“It was a long trip, much longer than we expected and it was mentally and physically draining for all of us, but we can’t really complain about that we knew before we left. The most important thing for me and the boys is to be strong and ready mentally to achieve our objective of getting three points – and I have no doubt about our readiness. It’s crucial that we do well more so because we have been here before and we sort of know what to expect from them on the field.
"Under difficult circumstances we came back with a win from Zambia with coach Mosimane in charge and I don’t see why we can’t do it here in Freetown. We have been together for a while and we have formed a solid base and this has helped us to have a better understanding of each other which plays a big role in getting the desired results,” said Bafana Bafana captain Aaron Mokoena.
Coach Mosimane says they have done everything in their power to prepare for this fixture. The last time Bafana Bafana was here in 2008 they lost one nil.
“We are still going to be cautious. We must not be emotional in our approach, we need to exercise some patience to get what we want. What is important to note is that Sierra Leone has got a point and we have three, actually we have two points than the two teams below us so we need to protect that.
"We can’t allow ourselves to be too excited in our approach and play like we did in the last two matches we played at home where we were attacking throughout the match. This is going to be a mental battle, what with the many fans expected at the stadium.
"At our training session here we were watched by more than a thousand spectators, so it gives you an indication as to what to expect during the match, but once my players can be mentally strong then we are in with a chance.
"I want to admit this is my biggest game since I was appointed coach of Bafana Bafana because this is the first time we play away from home after two convincing wins against Ghana and Niger so I intended to keep the momentum of winning,” said coach Mosimane.
Egypt will face Niger in the other Group B match.
“It’s important that we keep our eye on the other match because it will also give direction as to where we are going in this group. At the final whistle we will be able to tell what else we need to do going forward because our next match is against Egypt – and this could be the toughest match in the group for us.
"But at this stage I am not too worried about that one, we will tackle it when the time comes, but in my opinion we beat France in the World Cup, and then we also defeated Ghana who had a good World Cup tournament so we should be able to handle Egypt,” added Mosimane.
With midfielder and vice-captain Steven Pienaar not in the squad due to injury, the coach is expected to make one change to the team that beat Niger in the last qualifier.
