VETERAN Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune says they will go all out for victory at the weekend to maintain their unbeaten record in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
The South Africans host Nigeria’s Super Eagles in their vital Afcon qualifier at FNB Stadium on Saturday (3pm).
The Kaizer Chiefs shot-stopper told the media during their training session in Joburg yesterday that keeping a clean sheet was his main priority.
Bafana did not concede a goal in any of their last four matches, which makes Khune proud. They drew goalless with Seychelles away, having walloped them 6-0 at home in back-to-back Afcon qualifiers. They drew 0-0 with Libya and beat Nigeria 2-0 in their opening qualifying match.
A win for Stuart Baxter’s charges against Nigeria will secure their place in next year’s Afcon tournament in Cameroon.
Bafana are a point behind Group E leaders Nigeria on eight points. Victory for them will see them jump to 11 points, which would mean they are through, even if they lost their last qualifier.
Said Khune: “It’s a good record for us – four clean sheets – and we have scored the most number (eight) of goals. We have been working hard encouraging all departments to play their part for the country. But we need to keep grinding.”
He said they would need to be strong mentally and physically, as Nigeria would come at them guns blazing as they seek revenge. The Super Eagles are expected to arrive in the country today.
“We know how tough it is to play against West African countries,” he added. “Our advantage is that we have players with slender frames who are faster on the ball. They are very tall and big but very slow. We need to move the ball quickly, utilise the space behind their defence to create more chances and convert them.”
His teammate, Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Hlompho Kekana, agreed: “We have the responsibility to win. We know Nigeria will come at us. When you play them you need to be ready. They will bully you, so it’s up to us to try to protect our record at home. If we mean to play in Afcon, we really need to win at all costs.”
Baxter says Nigeria’s late arrival could work in SA’s favour. “They certainly think altitude is an issue. They are coming in on Thursday, that’s even better. My experience with altitude is that if you don’t come on the day of the game you have to come 12 days earlier, it’s scientific. If you come two days before you will probably have heavy legs.”
