Bafana
Bafana captain, Bongani Khumalo believes home support will play a pivotal role
if the hosts are to have a successful AFCON 2013 campaign.
The
National Team has one last training session left before the start of the 29th
Edition of the Orange Africa Cup of Nations South Africa 2013 where they meet
Cape Verde in the opening match of the tournament on Saturday, 19 January 2013
at the National Stadium in Nasrec, just outside Soweto.
The
match kicks off at 18h00.
Good
news in the camp is that midfield kingpin Kagisho Dikgacoi has returned to full
training after missing out two days on Monday and Tuesday. He joined the rest
of his teammates on Wednesday and finished Thursday’s session without any
complaints.
Captain
Khumalo told a packed media conference that home support will work for the
team.
“That
is the advantage you have when you are playing on home soil; you have the fans
right there with you every minute of the game and on behalf of the team I would
like to thank all the supporters who have come out to support us, we appreciate
the faith and the confidence they have shown in us.
“The
atmosphere South African supporters always create is world class and absolutely
unbelievable, and it can inspire every player to go beyond his potential, so
coming to this game on Saturday with 90 000 fans is very special. You never
know when you will have this opportunity again and we want to make the most of
it,” said Khumalo.
Head
coach Gordon Igesund believes the tournament is motivation enough for the
players to do well.
“Playing
for your country in front of a full house in the opening game of AFCON is
enough to push the players to deliver. Everybody is excited about that and they
are jumping out of their skin to get onto the field, I believe they are ready
for this,” said Igesund.
As
for pressure, the Bafana Bafana mentor says it is part of the game.
“There
is pressure for every single coach in this tournament. If there is a coach who
tells you he is not under pressure, he is not telling the truth. But it is the
kind of pressure that we can handle, the type that is exciting, the type of
pressure that you are hosting the tournament and you want to do well and make
the country proud,” he added.
Bafana
Bafana will have their last training session on Friday, 18 January at Orlando
Stadium in Soweto starting at 11h00.
Meanwhile,
South Africa has moved two places up on the Coca Cola FIFA World Rankings
released on Thursday (17 January). Bafana Bafana is now placed 85th in the
world and 22nd on the continent.
