IF EVER South Africa needed the inspiration to record their first win against Nigeria away tomorrow, they need only draw from their earlier clash in Cape Town to know that their continental nemesis is far from unbeatable.

Bafana's qualifying campaign, which was sealed by their 2-1 win over Sudan on Saturday, has been built on excellence away from home. But arguably their best performance was the goalless draw against Nigeria in September's home qualifier.

While the result masked Bafana's overall dominance, the impressive part of the game was their control of the midfield battle.

With their big bruisers, the Super Eagles were expected to walk all over South Africa.

Led by the diminutive but combative Andile Jali, the smaller Bafana midfield unit landed the bigger punches, leaving John Obi Mikel's unit dazed and flustered.

The Chelsea midfielder was turned into a passenger as SA's pocket rockets controlled the middle of the park.

They took the game to the visitors and in what was a rare sight for SA-Nigeria games, the visitors were a clear second best.

They were surprised on that Wednesday and they were rather fortunate, due to Bafana's erratic finishing, that they escaped with a point that has proved crucial to their survival in the qualifying rounds.

On the basis of Saturday's performance where Jali, Dean Furman, Thulani Serero and Oupa Manyisa combined well to tear Sudan apart, coach Shakes Mashaba seems to have found his best midfield combination.

Jali's cockiness is a trait Nigeria don't associate with past South African teams. Furman's reputation as the destroyer-in-chief when the ball has been lost gained more voyager miles.

Serero was an effective component of Bafana's midfield diamond and his almost telepathic link with Jali made for great viewing.

With qualification secured, Bafana's midfield has the opportunity to marry their newly acquired steel with their renowned talent. There never has been a better opportunity to beat Nigeria.