Pitso: Niger are not the threat

Johannesburg - Bafana Bafana coach Pitso Mosimane has played down the threat of Niger ahead of their vital AFCON 2012 qualifier in Niamey on Sunday.

Niger beat both Sierra Leone 3-1 and Egypt 1-0 at the National stadium in recent months but Mosimane feels they achieved those results without being the better team.

He has now labeled Sierra Leone their group's "dark horse" with Bafana still needing to play against the Leone Stars.

South Africa will qualify for next year's continental show-piece in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon if they win on Sunday and Sierra Leone draw or lose against Egypt.

Pitso said: "Yes, they have won two of their four games to trail us [by two points] in our group. But they were never dominant in those matches.

"The results they are getting are facts, but I don't think they are a threat. They score goals against the run of play but they are not a strong team.

"They are more serious now compared with the last time we played them. And they are definitely stronger at home. They believe they can beat any team at this stage and [they believe] we are next.

"The dark horses in this group are Sierra Leone.

"We were able to handle the pressure in Freetown (against Sierra Leone) and nothing can be worse than playing there."