Posted in News on Jan 26, 2013.
Amakhosi goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune is taking a humble line as he and Bafana Bafana prepare for their third and final group game of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations against Morocco on Sunday, 27 January 2013 at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.
A draw will suffice for Bafana Bafana to progress to the quarterfinals but the Chiefs No 1 is not getting complacent as he was quoted as saying to the media on Friday.
“We're not there yet. It still has to be business as usual until Sunday, we need to see where we can improve.”
Khune is not letting the euphoria of Bafana’s victory over Angola get the better of him, having been to the Fifa World Cup and Confederations Cup he has the experience to deal with the pressure and expectation that fans have now that South Africa have picked up a win in the tournament.
“The last game of the group will be a tough one, we'll have to treat them with respect as they are a team which has done well in the past.
Victory over Angola was a step in the right direction, but our feet have to stay on the ground. I'm confident that the team spirit we have now will be crucial in the next match.”
Khune has not been beaten in 318 minutes of play for Bafana Bafana and is looking to go where no Bafana goalkeeper has treaded before, should he keep the Atlas Lions at bay.
Khune will become the first South African goalkeeper at a major senior men’s tournament to pass through the group stages without being beaten.
As he explained further that he intends to keep his goal intact “obviously the confidence is high having kept two clean sheets but as I said, we must stay grounded.
We still have one to go and if I can keep another clean sheet there then that should be enough to see us through.”
Khune has done well in his last three outings against North African teams as he has managed to remain unbeaten, in the build to the Nations Cup he managed to thwart Algeria in a friendly game as he earned his 50th Cap for South Africa.
While in qualifying for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations he went unbeaten in two group games against then defending African Champions Egypt, as Bafana triumphed 1-0 in Johannesburg on March 26 2011, and he followed that up with another clean-sheet against the Pharaohs in June 2011 in Cairo.