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Bafana Bafana will host Africa's top ranked side at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, eager to make amends for their farcical failure to qualify for next year's AFCON in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
"We started training on Tuesday and all has gone well. Everyone is excited about the game and we see this as an opportunity to redeem ourselves following our failure to qualify for the African Cup of Nations," Letsholonyane told Kaizer Chiefs' official website.
"If we win the game it will make people forget a little bit about what happened. It will also send a strong wave to some of the teams in the rest of the continent. We all know the quality Ivory Coast have but we need to focus on what we can do best."
The gifted ball-winner says he is honoured to participate in an event that celebrates the achievements of former President Nelson Mandela.
"This is a game to honour Mr. Mandela for all the work he has done for us, here in South Africa and the world. We are all delighted to be playing a part in honouring such a great man," he said.
"We are also playing against the number one ranked team in the continent. It is a big game, big players, big stage - we need no motivation to do well."
Letsholonyane added that he was touched by the reception the national team received when they arrived in Port Elizabeth.
"We received a rousing welcoming at the airport when we touched down. The fans are looking at us to represent them with pride and this is what we aim to do every time we put on the national team jersey," he said.
