Johannesburg — BAFANA Bafana coach Pitso Mosimane's "spies" returned to SA last night and warned that Sierra Leone could pose a far bigger threat to the national team's hopes of qualifying for the 2012 African Nations Cup than many realise.

Mosimane said Bafana would have to be very careful when they face Sierra Leone in Freetown next month after the West Africans showed their class by holding seven-time champions Egypt to a shock 1-1 draw in Cairo at the weekend.

"My spies told me what I already know because Sierra Leone are now dark horses in our group," said Mosimane.

"That game in Freetown can be described as the game of our life. That game is going to be absolutely crucial," he said.

"I need to drive the point home to the boys and make them understand that this game will be very, very crucial to our chances.

"It is my job to make this point very clear to the boys. The fact is Sierra Leone have done their job by going to Cairo and getting a point in such a difficult place.

"Now they fancy their chances and they believe a victory against us in Freetown is going to put them in a strong position. Egypt, on the other hand, will feel that they gave up two points and will try to make up the difference along the way."

The 1-1 draw between Egypt and Sierra Leone left Bafana top of Group G and Mosimane said while it was still early days, it was encouraging to be perched at the summit.

"It is a little bit early for us to talk too much but we have temporary advantage. This position gives us confidence as a team but we know that it is not enough as the road ahead is still very long."

Mosimane said Bafana's rivals in Group G - Egypt, Sierra Leone and Niger - would spend the few weeks before the next round of Nations Cup qualifiers trying to unsettle each other psychologically.

"This is a chess game now and we need to display mental strength. Everybody in the team needs to be mentally strong because things are about to become very difficult.

"Sierra Leone and Egypt are also making their own plans and they are also working their own permutations about how to get the better of us," he said. "You need to be very strong mentally because these African Nations Cup qualifiers are not for the faint-hearted."

Mosimane said he "watched about 65%" of the Egypt v Sierra Leone qualifier on the internet and he had an idea of how to play against the two teams away from home.

"I saw a bit of the match but I saw enough to figure out how Sierra Leone was able to frustrate the Egyptians," he said.

"They had five defenders and it showed that there is a way of coming back with results without playing attacking football.

"You have to remember that Inter Milan won the Champions League this year playing like that."

As only the group winners are guaranteed to qualify for the 2012 tournament, Mosimane said even a draw should be considered a hugely costly disaster during the two-year campaign.

"What this means is that you cannot afford to lose a match at home. You can't. We cannot afford to even entertain the possibility of playing a draw, let alone a defeat. That is just unthinkable," he said.