Cape Town - Kermit Erasmus believes that if other clubs can have the same attitude to continental football as Orlando Pirates, the country and ultimately Bafana Bafana will benefit.
The Buccaneers will face Zamalek on Saturday having already qualified for the semi-finals of the CAF Confederation Cup. They will now be fighting to top the group, so that they can play the second leg at home.
Pirates' good run in the continent has been a welcome relief in the country, with Bafana Bafana faring dismally on the continent, which culminated in the embarrassing 3-1 loss to minnows Mauritania in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
"Playing in the continent tests the team's character, at the national team level as well as at club level," Erasmus told Football411.
"If we have that mental strength and have our character tested at that level regularly, we can be a force not only at club level but also at international level.
"Pirates have done well because we hustle for one another. We lift one another when one is down.
"We know that the odds are against us, but we use all of that to push us. We want to prove those who doubt us wrong.
"If you look at the match against AC Leopards, on a tar road. We had to play long balls which isn't our game but we managed to come away with three points."