Nigeria will accord South Africa due respect, says Amakapabo

Ahead Saturday’s Africa Cup of Nations Cup qualifier, coach Imama Amapakabo says South Africa will be accorded ‘due respect’.

Bafana Bafana under Ephraim Mashaba stopped Nigeria from defending their title at the 2015 Afcon in Equatorial Guinea after holding the Super Eagles to a 2-2 draw in Uyo.

And against same country at Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Gernot Rohr’s assistant claims his side are prepared to avoid a heartbreak against Stuart Baxter’s men.

“We’ve worked very hard. We believe every game is different from every other game,” Amapakabo said in a pre-match conference.
 
“The game against South Africa you just talked about was a two and a half years back. If you look at our team you will find out that a whole lot has changed about our team from that time to now and their own have also changed too.
 
“It is going to be a different ball game completely. We don’t look at them as underdogs. We believe they’ve played about 18 games without defeat.
 
“We believe they’ve come here with a lot of pedigree. We will give them their due respect and as much as possible we must go into the game with all amount of seriousness.
 
“It will be funny to me to say we don’t have the capacity to contain the South Africans. We are prepared as best as we possibly can. They too are prepared at their own best.
 
“At the end of the game, we will know who is going to be running faster. We have a youthful side and youth comes with a lot of mobility. I think we will surely be able to give the best we can.”