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Cape Town - Bafana Bafana starlet, Rivaldo Coetzee, believes the national team are more than ready to take on the very best the continent has to offer as they gear up for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.
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South Africa will head to Equatorial Guinea later this month for Africa's showpiece tournament, where they will take on Algeria, Senegal and Ghana in a daunting Group C.
But Ajax Cape Town defender Coetzee, who became Bafana's youngest-ever representative when playing against Congo in October - just four days before his 18th birthday - is relishing the chance to come up against some of the biggest teams in Africa, and feels Shakes Mashaba's men are more than ready to face the challenge head on.
"I think we have prepared well. We played Congo and Nigeria away and I believe we got the results we were looking for,” Coetzee told The Sowetan.
“We beat Congo (2-0) and drew with Nigeria (0-0), a good result because to draw against Nigeria away is never easy."
"That was just a taste of what to expect at the AFCON."
Coetzee went on to reveal his surprise at making the final 23-man squad, considering the number of defenders available to Mashaba, although the teenager is determined to grab his chance with both hands.
"As a youngster competing with 33 other players, I did not expect to be going to the AFCON. But it shows that the coach sees something in me and that I can contribute to the team," he said.
"I am humbled, which is not easy when you have to keep your feet on the ground. You have to think of where you come from and how you got where you are today.
“You have to remind yourself of those things."
