Rustenburg - It's do or die for the national team tonight as all eyes will be on them to see if they can guarantee their place in the semi-finals of the FIFA Confederations Cup.
Bafana Bafana take on New Zealand tonight at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in their Group A match.
An early departure from the Festival of Champions will leave thousands of host country fans disappointed.
Much has been said about Bafana Bafana's inability to score goals and Coach Joel Santana is expected to put up an offensive strategy rather than his usual defensive formation, to create more scoring opportunities.
Addressing reporters after the national team's training session on Monday, Bafana Bafana's number one goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune, said they still had a fighting chance to make it to the semi-finals.
"We still have two games to play. We dropped points against Iraq but we are confident about the match against New Zealand," he said.
According to Khune, the match against New Zealand will not be an easy one, as the opponents have good strikers, adding that Bafana Bafana needed to defend well in set-pieces.
Coach Santana, who is well aware of how vital a win is tonight, echoed Khune's words, saying that the team needs to win the match.
"Even though New Zealand lost five-nil to Spain last Sunday, they are a good team and we will have to improve to beat them.
"I think we will score one or two but we will also need some luck," said Coach Santana who is expected to mentor Bafana Bafana towards the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Bafana Bafana fans are expecting a high-quality performance tonight and nothing less than a win.
Soccer fan, Mbulelo Baloyi told BuaNews that South Africa will have to go for the kill from the first whistle, if they really harbour any ambition to go to the semi-finals.
"We will have to match Spain's goal tally which is a tall order for Bafana. But there is hope, taking the fact that we had three chances to score clear goals on Sunday when we played against Iraq," he said.
Meanwhile, Buyi Vilakazi from Durban affirmed that Bafana Bafana needed nothing less than a win.
"Bafana have to win tonight's match at all costs as a loss will kick us out of the competition. What an embarrassment that will be. I am quite optimistic that we will win," she said.
Another Bafana Bafana enthusiast, Thandi Khumalo, told BuaNews that considering Sunday's match between Spain and New Zealand, Bafana has an opportunity to win at least 3-1.
"I'm sure they've seen the team's weaknesses and should use that in their favour. However, that will only happen if they play the ball and score more goals.
"On the other hand, I'm expecting New Zealand to make a come back after Sunday's embarrassment, which will be a challenge for Bafana Bafana, I'm hoping for the best!" she said.
Winning tonight's game will possibly give South Africa a major boost as they face yet another difficult match on Sunday against Spain at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein.
