Furman: 'We want to come away with something'

Cape Town - Bafana Bafana are desperate to return to South Africa with a positive result, says midfielder Dean Furman.

The national team are currently in Ghana preparing to take on the Black Stars as the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying campaign kicks off this week.

In Group C, Bafana Bafana are accompanied by Ghana, Sudan and the lowly ranked São Tomé and Príncipe.

On Thursday, November 14 Ghana welcomes Molefi Ntseki's Bafana Bafana charges to the Cape Coast Sports Stadium.

The match starts at 21:00 (SA time).

"There is a clean bill of health. Everyone is looking forward to playing," said Furman ahead of the much-anticipated fixture.

"I think tonight is going to be a very important (training) session, so we can acclimatise and get used to the heat and the environment.

"Hopefully, (we) get to work on some tactics because it is going to be a very difficult game."

During the 2019 AFCON qualifying campaign, South Africa qualified from Group E without any defeat along with African giants Nigeria.

Bafana Bafana beat the Super Eagles 2-0 in Uyo courtesy of goals from Tokelo Rantie and Percy Tau.

Furman believes that the away victory against Nigeria worked in Bafana's favour and hopes that they can inflict similar damage against the Black Stars in Ghana.

"We're definitely looking to come away with something. A win would be fantastic, and a point would be a great result because Ghana are also a top nation on this continent with some great players," said Furman.

"We want to come away with something. We've travelled long and hard to get here. We want something to show for our efforts.

"We want to get off to a good start and then come home. I think our home form is going to be key for us in qualification."

Earlier this year at the 2019 AFCON in Egypt, Bafana shocked the world in knocking out the host nation in the last 16.

That victory came under the tutelage of Stuart Baxter, who has since resigned as head coach.

The Ghana clash will be Ntseki's second match in charge since his interim gig was made permanent by the South African Football Association (SAFA) in August.  

His first official match in the dugout was a 2-1 victory over Mali in the Nelson Mandela Challenge last month.

Furman claims that Bafana Bafana's progress at AFCON earlier this year along with the win over Mali has signaled to the rest of the continent that South Africa are a "force to be reckoned with".

"That's got to be the attitude going into this game (against Ghana). We don’t want to fear them," Furman continued.

"We give them respect but we certainly believe that on our day we’re a match for anyone and can cause anyone problems."

- Compiled by Tashreeq Vardien