Pretoria - A win against Poland at the refurbished Orlando Stadium at the weekend has given Bafana Bafana the "extra oomph" to surprise Iraq when the two teams battle it out at the opening of the FIFA Confederations Cup on Sunday.
"A win close to the eagerly anticipated opening match of the Confederations Cup clearly added an extra oomph to the national team," the team's media liaison officer, Mahlomola Morake.
Mr Morake, who described the mood at the training camp as very high, also confirmed that sensational midfielder Teko Modise, who did not play when Bafana Bafana beat Poland 1-0 on Saturday, was training with other players.
"The technical team advised the coach to rest Teko after he picked up a minor injury ahead of the warm up match against Poland.
"It was not something serious, he is looking forward to frustrate the Asian champs with his sheer wizardry skills when the ball is on his feet on Sunday," he told BuaNews on Monday.
Mr Morake said the Brazilian coach, Joel Santana, was working intensely in all departments starting from goal keeping, defence, midfield and the striking force to ensure the team's cohesion in going forward.
The coach has been doing research behind the scenes against their opponents Iraq.
Bafana's opening match at the FIFA Confederations Cup will be played at Coca-Cola Park in Johannesburg on Sunday at 4pm.
Mr Morake urged soccer fans to go out in their numbers to support the team. "We want to urge all South African soccer fans to rally behind their national team and we are looking forward to seeing them coming to the opening match against Iraq in large numbers."
Nicknamed the Lions of Mesopotamia, Iraq's second match will be against Spain which will also be a force to be reckoned with on 17 June at Free State Stadium at 4pm.
They will play against the lowest ranked team in the tournament, New Zealand in Johannesburg's Coca-Cola Park on 20 June at 8:30 pm.
Bafana Bafana, who have been drawn in group A with Iraq, New Zealand and Spain, will have to wallop both the Lions of Mesopotamia who are ranked 77 and New Zealanders who are ranked 82nd in order to qualify for the semi-finals.
Spain is unbeaten in 31 games and has been number one in the FIFA world rankings for a year.
Like South Africa, Iraq will also lock horns against the well-organised Poland at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium, in the North West on Monday, 15 June at 8:30pm.
