Cape Verde coach sings different tune after seeing the Moses Mabhida Stadium pitch

Cape Verde coach Lucio Antunes was in such high spirits after his charges beat Bafana Bafana in Praia last week that he boldly declared they would take six points off the South Africans in the back-to-back 2018 World Cup qualifiers between the two nations.

But that smug amateur clairvoyant has disappeared since Cape Verde arrived in Durban this week and has been replaced by a more cautious Antunes.

The Cape Verde coach admitted that he allowed emotions to get the better of him after they beat Bafana 2-1 in Praia on Friday night.

Speaking through a translator‚ he seemed unimpressed when he saw the thick grass at Moses Mabhida Stadium and he suggested that the surface could affect their plans on Tuesday night.

The first leg was played on an artificial turf in Praia.

“We were very happy with the victory and it's normal to be very hopeful‚” he said.

“It's not a problem of Cape Verde.

"South Africa gave us this conditions and we must just deal with it.” said Antunes‚ in reference to the uncut grass.

“We also travelled for more than 24 hours before we arrived (on Saturday night).

"Bafana came to Cape Verde with a charter (flight) and we kept changing flights.”

Antunes‚ who's an air traffic controller in the tiny Portuguese island – home to approximately 500 000 people - was in his element after the “Blue Sharks” beat Bafana.

The 50-year-old told the media at Estadio Nacional that they would beat coach Stuart Baxter's charges home and away. But that Antunes seemingly never boarded the flight to South Africa.

“It will be a very difficult game – we are going to face a very strong team‚" he said‚ with the look of a man seemingly searching for excuses.

"Bafana have good players and they are playing at home.

"There are only three matches left (in the qualifiers) and South Africa can't miss this chance.”

Despite now appearing to suggest that his team are the underdogs for Tuesday night's encounter‚ Antunes warned Bafana to brace themselves for a tough outfit.

“We will respect our opponents‚ but we expect to play well.

"We have to enjoy the game‚” he added.

Bafana will have to watch out for Tiago Almeida‚ the fullback who enjoys overlapping‚ and Nuno Rocha‚ whose brace made the difference in Praia.

- TimesLIVE