Banyana Banyana forward Thembi Kgatlana knows that there will be extra pressure on South Africa at this year's Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Morocco, as a result of their status as defending champions.
South Africa won the last WAFCON in the same host country in 2022, beating Morocco 2-1 in the final to clinch their first title.
Kgatlana, who currently plays for Tigres UANL in Mexico's Liga MX Femenil, expects a backlash from Banyana's rivals in July, especially as Zambia's Racheal Kundananji expects to dethrone the South Africans.
"I know that it's going to be challenging... South Africa are the current champions and anyone, for sure [will be fired up to prove themselves]... It kind of brings a lot of excitement," Kgatlana told ESPN.
However, Banyana are not new to playing with plenty at stake. Kgatlana recalled how they went to the 2023 FIFA World Cup off the back of a protest over remuneration and overall treatment by the South African Football Association (SAFA), knowing that despite their disrupted preparation, they could make a statement to the powers that be with strong performances.
She continued: "I think it was the protest that gave us the courage that we needed. We knew that once we protested, there was no turning back in terms of all our African teams being held captive [by critics who say]: 'Hey; you want things, but you don't perform.'
"We [in South African football] didn't have that excuse because we were performing."
However, one difference which Kgatlana cited between her experience at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup and the experience she expects to face at the upcoming WAFCON is that at the tournament, South Africa were not expected to make it out of the group stage, which they ultimately did.
Of the WWC, she said: "We knew that everybody didn't believe in us coming out of the group stage and that was fine with us. We were the underdogs and all the pressure was taken away from us. It would have been very difficult for us to be in a place where [we] were the stars of the show...
"For us, I think, it was the best time to go and play the football that we played, because no-one believed in us."
After a heartbreaking defeat to Sweden, Banyana drew to Argentina and beat Italy to qualify for the knockout rounds in Australia and New Zealand. It was Kgatlana's stoppage time winner against Italy that sent them through to the round of 16, where they lost 2-0 to the Netherlands.
Heading into WAFCON, Banyana will be hoping to draw upon the big match temperament of Kgatlana. The forward has made a habit of putting on her best performances in major fixtures, earning the Best Player award and top scorers' prize at WAFCON 2018 and then netting her country's first ever Women's World Cup goal in a 3-1 defeat to Spain in the 2019 Women's World Cup.
She added: "Who doesn't want to show up [for big games]? I love big games because they motivate me, it allows me to express myself.
"Leading up to the games, I like to make sure that I'm calm, I'm relaxed [and] I don't think about the game until I get on the pitch for warm-ups. Once I get in that state, I think I get to express myself even better."
South Africa have been drawn into Group C for WAFCON, together with Ghana, Mali and Tanzania. The top two will qualify for the quarter-finals, together with the two best third-placed teams across three groups.