Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Ronwen Williams says their victory over Egypt was a reminder that the nation should believe in them.
Bafana registered an incredible result against the Pharaohs, winning 1-0 in the last-16 on Saturday to progress to the quarterfinals at the expense of the hosts.
They take on Nigeria in the last eight at Cairo International Stadium tonight (21h00).
"Our performance in the opening first few games were not up to standard. We knew we could play better and we were getting a lot of flak and stick back home," said the SuperSport United shot-stopper, who has played three of Bafana's four matches in the competition so far.
"So [in that win over Egypt] we were just basically reminding them [fans back home] to believe in the team because we didn't come here to perform badly. We work hard every day but things were a bit tough in the Group Stages but we just needed to remind them to stick together as a nation, support us through thick and thin. You never know in football, be there and support us at all times."
"Positive criticism is always acceptable, the positive criticism we got we took it with the pinch of salt and we moved on and we proved to everyone that we are here to do our job as best as possible."