'They were a lot of expectations that we needed to win the tournament,' Khune said.
Former Bafana Bafana captain Itumeleng Khune has opened up about the immense pressure South Africa faced during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. ©Nokwanda Zondi/BackpagePix
Former Bafana Bafana captain Itumeleng Khune has opened up about the immense pressure South Africa faced during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, admitting that the burden of hosting the tournament ultimately weighed heavily on the squad.
Bafana’s disappointing 2010
Despite ending their campaign with a memorable 2-1 victory over France, Bafana Bafana failed to progress beyond the group stages after collecting four points. They became the first host nation in World Cup history to be eliminated in the first round.
South Africa began their campaign with a spirited 1-1 draw against Mexico before suffering a damaging 3-0 defeat to Uruguay in their second match.
Sixteen years later, Bafana are back on football’s biggest stage. Ironically, they will once again open their campaign against Mexico on Thursday.
“They were a lot of expectations that we needed to win the tournament since it was historical. It was the first time an African team had hosted the World Cup in the history of the tournament,” Khune reflected.
“A lot was expected from us to get out of the group stages which we tried but we drew our first game, we lost the second game and won our last game against France.
“We couldn’t qualify on four points, but we gave it our all. Unfortunately, those permutations didn’t favour us, but we wanted to get out of the group stages.”
Khune believes the current generation is in capable hands under coach Hugo Broos, praising the Belgian for restoring some belief in the team since taking charge in 2021.
Under Broos, Bafana have qualified for back-to-back Africa Cup of Nations tournaments and secured their long-awaited return to the World Cup.
Their third-place finish at the 2023 AFCON in Côte d’Ivoire also signalled the team’s resurgence on the continental stage.
Khune – ‘Broos … has changed a lot’
“We must be proud of one of our longest serving coaches Hugo Broos because he has changed a lot and he has been very consistent in his selection,” Khune added.
“So, I think the boys have overcome a lot of obstacles in making sure that they get to compete on the world stage and they must be proud of themselves.”
“It’s very difficult to travel in Africa because the continent is very big and sometimes you get to travel for 3 days and you sleep at the airport. The boys really made us proud to make sure they don’t let that affect them mentally.”
Bafana face a difficult Group A assignment against Mexico, Czech Republic and South Korea, with a place in the round of 32 at stake.
