The Argentine has brought a youthful selection as he looks to build for the next four-year cycle to the 2030 World Cup, but says they will learn much from the experience of facing their hosts.
“We have the opportunity to come and play against a team that is going to the World Cup and that was very important for us in terms of gaining more experience,” Real said.
“We are a national team developing as a team, starting a new process. For us it is very important to compete against teams that are in better shape and higher in the FIFA rankings as well.
“For us it is very pleasant to be here and play these kinds of games. It is a good opportunity for us.”
Real says he has studied Bafana’s last few games and understands the kind of football they try to play.
“We have been watching their last several games,” he said. “It is a good team, a very dynamic team. Most of the players play in the local league, however some of them play abroad, like Lyle Foster. Some play in MLS (Major League Soccer).
“It is a very competitive team. They have a very clear style of play, hopefully it will be a good experience for us. We are expecting to compete well with them.”
Whatever the result on Friday, Real says his players will take much from the encounter.
“It is a new experience for us. One of the things that we need to look at is trying to play these types of games that will force us to perform at the highest level possible, to feel in our body and our brain these types of games and make us better.
“We know we are going to play against a World Cup team, but we need to try and represent the country in the best manner possible,” he said.
Real has five uncapped players in his squad. At 17, attacking player Efraín Mejía is the youngest and has previously represented the country’s under-20 team.
Almost all the players are home-based, with a sprinkling from clubs in nearby Costa Rica and 19-year-old Amadeus Zamora, who was born in Germany and plays for the under-20 side of fourth-tier Chemnitzer FC.
Striker Ariagner Smith, who plays club football in Kazakhstan, was named in the squad but cannot feature against South Africa because the match falls outside the international window.
He will, however, be available for Nicaragua when they fly from Johannesburg to Paraguay to help another World Cup-bound country prepare for next month’s tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States. They take on Paraguay in Asunción on June 3.
Nicaragua go into Friday’s international having lost six of their last eight matches and finishing last in their World Cup qualifying group last November.