Bafana Bafana square up with Africa’s no. 1 ranked ‘Elephants’ at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday, 12 November 2011.

Kick-off for the game is at 15:00.

“This is a game to honour Mr. Mandela for all the work he has done for us, here in South Africa and the world. We are all delighted to be playing a part in honouring such a great man.

“We are also playing against the no. 1 ranked team in the continent. It is a big game, big players, big stage – we need no motivation to do well,” said the midfield maestro.

Letsholonyane who joined Bafana Bafana on Monday with two of his teammates, Siphiwe Tshabalala and George Lebese said the preparations for the game have gone well.

“We started training on Tuesday and all has gone well. Everyone is excited about the game and we see this as an opportunity to redeem ourselves following our failure to qualify for the African Cup of Nations.

“If we win the game it will make people forget a little bit about what happened. It will also send a strong wave to some of the teams in the rest of the continent. We all know the quality Ivory Coast have but we need to focus on what we can do best.

‘Yeye’ was also encouraged by the welcoming they received from the fans in Port Elizabeth.

“We received a rousing welcoming at the airport when we touched down. The fans are looking at us to represent them with pride and this is what we aim to do every time we put on the national team jersey.

“I am also glad to see that the younger players are settling in and it is very important that as senior players we create an environment for them to enjoy their time with Bafana Bafana.

Come Saturday, we will all be ready to face the’ Elephants’.