Masinga: Bafana have nothing to lose

Bafana will face Brazil in an international friendly match in Sao Paulo in what will be Igesund's first match in charge of the national side since taking over from former coach Pitso Mosimane.

Brazil, rated 12th according to the latest Fifa world rankings, are expected to overpower their less illustrious African opponents, who are ranked 74th.

The Brazilians – who are yet to recover from a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Mexico in the finals of the 2012 London Olympics – will be fielding a full strength side as they look to look to reassert their status as a world football powerhouse.

Masinga, who scored 18 goals in 58 appearances for Bafana tells KickOff.com that Bafana should avoid falling into the trap of trying to match the Brazilians.

"People are saying the team will be under pressure. What pressure? This is a friendly match," Masinga says.

"Both the coach and the players have nothing to lose because this is not a World Cup qualifier.

"South Africa should play their normal game. They should not try to match the Brazilian type of football. This would be disastrous. I advise the boys to play according to the coach's instructions," Masinga adds.

"It is good that Bafana are facing Brazil because the coach will see exactly where he needs to improve. The effort the boys will put in is more important than the result," says the former Leeds United striker.

Bafana have played Brazil on three previous occasions.

Brazil beat Bafana 3-2 in the first encounter between the two sides at Soccer City in April 1996.

South Africa also lost the next encounter 2-1 at Ellis Park Stadium in September 1997.

The other match, also played at Ellis Park, resulted in a 1-0 win for Brazil during the 2009 Confederations Cup.