All the indicators point towards Itumeleng Khune earning his second cap for Bafana Bafana when they face Paraguay at the Super Stadium in Attridgeville on Wednesday evening, that is according to a number of the Johannesburg Daily newspapers.

Khune according to media reports was training with the group of players who like starting the match on Wednesday for coach Carlos Alberto Parreira which also included Chiefs midfielder Siphiwe Tshabalala. Khune made his international debut on the 12th March for South Africa against Zimbabwe and pretty much held his own as South Africa won the match 2-1, the Chiefs keeper is expecting to be asked many more questions when he faces the likes of Paraguay’s towering Blackburn Rovers striker Roque Santa Cruz on Wednesday.

Flattering

Khune while talking to Kaizerchiefs.com on Wednesday morning did not want to get caught up in discussions around whether or not he would start against the Paraguayans, and described it as flattering talk but that he was hoping when Parreira announces his starting eleven late on Wednesday afternoon that he will be in it.

As he said “ the newspapers can say one thing but I will only know for certain that I am starting when the coach says so, I do hope that the papers have gotten it correct as it would be wonderful for me to play against a team of the caliber of Paraguay”.

Testing evening

Should he start against Paraguay a team who are ranked 26th on the FIFA World Rankings some 45 places higher than 71st placed Bafana Bafana, Khune believes he will have his work cut out for him. “Paraguay are ahead of Brazil on the South American World Cup Qualifying table” explained Khune; he went on to add, “so it shows that they are not a team to be taken lightly. From a personal point of view I have worked hard since we got together early in the week, and playing against these types of opponents can only help me improve my game. I will try to abide by my policy which is to keep a clean sheet in every game that I play, it will be challenging against players like Santa Cruz and Bayern Munich’s Julio Dos Santos”.

International involvement

Apart from Khune three other Chiefs players could be on international duty on Wednesday evening, Siphiwe Tshabalala voted The Amakhosi’s man of the match during their ABSA Premier League win over Amazulu on Friday, looks a likely starter in the Paraguay game with Khune.

While Moketi Tsotetsi will be on the bench for Bafana Bafana in Attridgeville, further a field David Obua will be hoping to make an impression when he turns out for the Ugandan Cranes against Libya in Kampala. Chiefs Zimbabwean international duo of Tinashe Nengomasha and Onismor Bhasera were unable to participate in the Zimbabwe national team's friendly match on Wednesday due to injury.