Itumeleng Khune has urged his Bafana Bafana teammates to move on and focus on challenges ahead following a disappointing 2014 World Cup campaign that saw South Africa missing out on playing in Brazil next year.

Bafana Bafana needed to beat Botswana on Saturday and hope that Ethiopia loses against Central African Republic to qualify for the next stage; “I kept my eyes on the bench especially in the second half,” said Bafana Bafana captain.

South Africa will now have to focus on the Africa Cup of Nations in 2015, 2017 and World Cup in Russia in 2018 according to the Bafana Bafana skipper.

How was the mood like at Moses Mabhida Stadium after the referee blew the final whistle following the 4-1 drubbing of Botswana on Saturday?

It is very difficult to put it into words but it was a big disappointment for us as a team and the nation in its entirety. Players took it really hard. We were all sad in the dressing room after the game.

I remember after the final whistle running to the bench to get the update on what was happening in Brazzaville.

I was keeping one eye on the Coach especially when we went 3-1 up and when the referee blew the final whistle and of course he did not run to the pitch to celebrate.

I knew we had to wait a little bit. We all sat on the bench as there were few minutes added on in the other game.

At the end of the day things did not go our way and it was difficult to celebrate the win against Botswana as we were disappointed about not qualifying for the World Cup.

I was proud of the players though because we bowed out fighting and the result against Botswana demonstrated that. The people who came through at Moses Mabhida Stadium saw that we died with our boots on for the country.

We have to move on and start preparing for the challenges that lie ahead including the Africa Cup of Nations and World Cup 2018 in Russia.

How important is the clash against Zimbabwe at Orlando Stadium on Tuesday evening?

It has been a while as a country that we win two games in a space of four days and speaking to the players on Sunday I expressed this; how important it was for the country to beat Zimbabwe and we go back to our Clubs with heads held high.

We know what it means for the country to do well every time we don the green and gold. We did very well against Botswana on Saturday and we have to continue in the same spirit against Zimbabwe by winning the game.

Games against Zimbabwe should be special to you…

I treasure every moment I get to represent my country, and off course I made my debut against Zimbabwe in Germinston back in 2008. It is a while back but I have vivid memories of that game that kick started my international career.

You spoke about focusing on the road ahead but Zimbabwe is also preparing for the Afcon in 2015…

We are coming up against a team that has about nine players from the Premier League including some of my teammates at Kaizer Chiefs. They will want to prove a point without a doubt.

They beat us the last time we met back in 2011 in Zimbabwe with Musona (Knowledge) scoring a brace and he will be determined to score again this time around. As a collective they have their own objectives coming into this game and they will want to fight for a win.

It should be an interesting battle between two teams with talented squad. We are playing at home and we will go out to win this game and make the country proud!