كتب : وكالات
A couple of months ago, demonstrations broke out all over Egypt to turn into a full-scale revolt that overthrew ex-president Hosni Mubarak on February 11, with security worries prompting the hiatus.
A number of Egypt’s figures are out of form, and yet; manager Hassan Shehata believes the revolution gave his men a morale boost that might see them beat the Bafana Bafana in the anticipated Nations Cup qualifier despite lack of preparations.
"The game is going to be tough because all local competitions have been halted for a while, and we didn't prepare well for the match," the former Zamalek star told Egyptian TV.
"But what I'm sure of is that the players are high-spirited; they became more attached to Egypt after the revolution."
Ismaili's holding midfielder Hosni Abd-Rabou echoed Shehata's sentiment that the African champions were inspired by the revolt, which lasted for 18 days.
"The players became high-spirited after the revolution. We will do our best to make the Egyptian people happy after the dire circumstances the country witnessed," he told FilGoal.com.
The game takes place at Ellis Park, is where Egypt recorded their historic 1-0 win over then world champions Italy in the 2009 Confederations Cup
Egypt, who are languishing at the bottom of Group G on one point, need to beat leaders South Africa in order to revive their qualification hopes.
Team News:
Zamalek striker Amr Zaki was ruled out with a niggling knee problem.
Skipper Ahmed Hassan, who has recently recuperated from a serious cruciate ligament tear, was snubbed as he's still struggling with match fitness.
Geddo and Mohamed Zidan were both named after shaking off respective injuries.