South Africa coach Jomo Sono promised there will be 'no holding back' as Bafana Bafana take on fellow World Cup finalists Turkey in tonight's crunch for the Reunification Cup at the Hong Kong Stadium (kick-off 8.15pm).
'We will go flat out tomorrow and we won't hold back because if we hold back, we might get injuries,' Sono said. 'It's going to be a tactical game. The match is going to revolve around the midfield. We must watch out for their number 20 [Hasan Sas] who can cause trouble for us,' said Sono, whose team have picked up three points after beating Scotland 2-0 on Monday. 'We haven't decided whether we will field the same team as against Scotland. We still have nine days to go before the World Cup,' he said.
'We have seen that other [World Cup] countries have been picking up injuries. But nevertheless, we are going to take this match seriously. Our 22 players [defender Jacob Lekgetho of Lokomotiv Moscow has received a late callup to join his teammates in place of injured Matthew Booth] are good enough to play for South Africa.
'We have seen Turkey play and they are a very competitive and very good side,' Sono said. 'Their centre forward [Hakan Sukur] is very well known. Our players are going to give 100 per cent because we are still fighting for points and we will make it worthwhile for the people to watch the game.'
Turkey, who defeated the Hong Kong League XI 2-0 on Monday, face a fired-up South African team who are slowly adapting to the weather here. 'It's too hot in Hong Kong and if it was dry here, it would suit us. But we are competing in the World Cup and we should push ourselves to get used to the climate. It will be a difficult game [against Turkey],' said Sono.
Wearing a New York Yankees baseball cap, which he said reminded him of his playing days with the New York Cosmos in the 1970s during South Africa's apartheid-era isolation, the coach said he was looking forward to their match against Turkey.