South Africa didn't get off to the best start in the African Cup of Nations with a 2-0 defeat against Mali, who would go on to qualify for the knockout phase as Group E leaders, but the team coached by Belgian Hugo Broos (71) hit their stride and didn't lose another game in the competition, nor did they concede a goal.
After the group stage, Bafana Bafana knocked out one of the main tournament favourites, Morocco (2-0), who had surprised them at the World Cup in Qatar, and ended Cape Verde's dream(0-0, 2-1 on penalties) in the quarter-finals of the competition taking place in Ivory Coast.
"Our good performance can be explained by the very cohesive group we have, especially in defence. From a more personal point of view, I feel good because I've been helping the team, always giving my best in favour of the team," said South Africa's Yaya Sithole (24) to Flashscore.
Next up is Nigeria, a "very strong" opponent who are on a winning streak and haven't conceded a goal in their last four games.
"We're up against a very strong team, a giant country with very strong support. Nigeria are one of the best teams in Africa and have some of the best players around," said the CD Tondela midfielder.
"This is a crucial game and I hope to put in a good performance to help my team and my country," he said.
The "dream" runs South Africa's life
Sithole is one of the few players called up by South Africa for AFCON who doesn't play in the South African league, but he ensures that he keeps in touch with many of his teammates on a daily basis. His presence in Ivory Coast is a "dream" come true.
"Being here is like dreaming with your feet firmly on the ground. I'm proud to be able to help my team in such an important competition for the African continent and also for the world of football," he said.
South Africa, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and the Democratic Republic of Congo. One of these four teams will be crowned Kings of Africa on Sunday and Sithole doesn't rule out the possibility of it being Bafana Bafana.
"If we've got this far, we feel that yes, it's possible. We're focussed on achieving that," said the midfielder.
However, although he's still not sure, Yaya Sithole would like the South African team to be recognised in this way, regardless of what happens on Wednesday: "I hope they'll say that we did our best and that we gave everything we could and that we grew as a team in this competition."
With a "great atmosphere" in Côte d'Ivoire, with the whole country very "involved " in the AFCON, amidst " a lot of joy", Yaya says goodbye with a very special request.
"I'd really like to take this opportunity to thank all my team-mates, coaches and managers that I've had so far. Without them it wouldn't have been possible," he said.
