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According to the Football411 website, Bafana Bafana face the Nigerians on Wednesday at the Moses Mabhida Stadium as part of the Nelson Mandela Challenge, with another clash on Saturday against Burkina Faso in Soweto.
Furman told the website that the midweek clash against the Super Eagles has all the hallmarks of a titanic encounter, with Stephen Keshi's behemoths the reigning Africa Cup of Nations champions.
"It's going to be an exciting game. They (Nigeria) have done really well. We need to test ourselves against the best teams in the world and Nigeria are one of them," the Doncaster man said.
Furman reckons Bafana have held their own against physically-superior opposition in the past, and highlighted the South Africans' penalty shoot-out defeat to 'Les Aigles' at AFCON in February as an example.
"I think we have shown over the last year that we can be competitive. In the Mali game we did well. They are a big side but they did not get the better of us," he claimed.
Meanwhile, the 25-year-old admitted Belgium-based defender Anele Ngcongca's unavailability on the eve of Wednesday's match is less than ideal, but does provide an opportunity for someone else to make his mark.
Furman added: "Obviously every withdrawal is disappointing. Anele is a big part of the team. We have to look at whose in the camp and who ever is selected to play will have to step up and make that position their own."