They missed out in 2010 and don't want it to happen again in 2012.

That's the feeling of three Bafana veterans from the last Nations Cup campaign.

Steven Pienaar, Siboniso Gaxa and Bernard Parker were all part of the Joel Santana flop when Bafana failed to join Africa's elite earlier this year in Angola, where the continental championships were held.

Yesterday, all three - along with their team-mates - revealed a steely determination to get the 2012 campaign off to a winning start tomorrow in Nelspruit, where the first hurdle will be Niger.

Niger are the lowest-ranked team in South Africa's group, which includes Sierra Leone and African champions Egypt.

The West Africans are 145th on the Fifa list and Sierra Leone are 137th. Bafana are 66th and Egypt - the highest ranked African team - are ninth.

Bafana failed to make it to Angola in January after losing to Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Equatorial Guinea last year, under then coach Santana.

Yesterday, vice-captain Pienaar, Gaxa and Parker said failing to get to Angola still rankled. It also cost them valuable practice and experience ahead of the World Cup.

Pienaar was in and out of that squad with injuries, while Gaxa and Parker were regulars in the dismal Santana campaign.

Only group winners along with the runners-up of Group K (which has five teams) are guaranteed a spot at the Nations Cup. If South Africa fail to top their group, they will need to be one of the two best qualifiers from the other 10 mini-leagues.

"We have got to be careful with the little mistakes that we make in these matches," said Pienaar. "It still hurts to think about how we failed to qualify for Angola, and a lot of us were part of that squad. We know how it feels to not make it into a big tournament like the Nations Cup and we don't want that to happen again.

"A lot of people think the match against Niger is an easy game, but we need to win, especially since the game is at home."

Pienaar, who has been drafted back to his usual role on the right side of midfield by coach Pitso Mosimane, said Bafana's 1-0 win over Ghana at Soccer City last month was now a thing of the past. He said the same winning spirit that saw Bafana beat the World Cup quarterfinalists would remain when they play Niger, but with more determination as the Ghana match was a friendly.

Parker, who will partner Bafana's danger man, Katlego Mphela, up front tomorrow night, said Mosimane was "preaching" consistency throughout the 90 minutes during the week.

"He [Mosimane] cautioned us against losing our shape against Ghana last month. He has been preaching to us to keep our shape and heads up throughout the game because it is crucial for us to win our opening match," said Parker.

He was backed by Gaxa, who said Mosimane's 2014 World Cup vision would start with qualification for the Nations Cup.

"As it stands, all the teams in our group are in it. Egypt are not the only favourites to win the group," Gaxa said.

The players said Mosimane had emphasised that the Nations Cup qualifiers would be a different ball game to what the team experienced during the World Cup. Bafana failed to make it to the second round of the World Cup after matches against Mexico, Uruguay and France.

Possible Bafana line-up:

Itumeleng Khune, Aaron Mokoena, Bongani Khumalo, Anele Ngcongca, Tsepo Masilela, Steven Pienaar, Siphiwe Tshabalala, Thanduyise Khuboni, MacBeth Sibaya, Katlego Mphela, Bernard Parker