Following the unveiling of the 23-man squad that will carry the national pride during the much talked about Confederations Cup in June, the Amakhosi faithful have given thumbs up to the endorsement of Chiefs No.1 goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune and his teammate and Player of the Season, Siphiwe Tshabalala.

“Without taking anything away from other goalkeeping contenders, I have no doubt that Coach Santana and the selection team will give Itumeleng a mammoth task of being the last man of defence for Bafana-Bafana. The onus is now with ‘Itu’ to prove his worth not only to South Africa but to the world as well” said the energetic Wilson Tshabalala popularly known as “Ntjhebe.

Itu has registered 13 clean sheets out of 26 games for the Naturena boys last season.

His pal and Amakhosi’s loyalist William Mukwevho was all praises to Siphiwe Tshabalala when he said “Shabba is world class, he is not our player of the season by fluke. He deserves to gauge himself with the likes of Ronaldo of Portugal, Pirlo of Italy, Fabregas of Spain and Kaka of Brazil. Without a doubt he will do South Africa proud during the Confed Cup.”

When asked by kaizerchiefs.com about their tickets for the Confederations Cup the two quickly reacted “Us’thatha ka njani (loosely translated ‘what do you take us for’), we have long done our part and by buying our tickets on time because we believe we are the main partners to SAFA and the LOC for making the Confederations Cup and 2010 World Cup a huge success. Even President Zuma made an appeal yesterday that South Africans all need to rally behind our national teams, Viva Bafana-Bafana Viva!” said the Amakhosi faithful.

Bafana-Bafana will meet the volatile Poland (currently rated 40 in the FIFA rankings) in an international friendly and preparatory encounter set to take place in a refurbished Orlando Stadium on Saturday 06 June 2009. Kick Off for the game is at 3 pm (15h00).

Full squad:

Goalkeepers: Brian Baloyi (Mamelodi Sundowns), Itumeleng Khune (Kaizer Chiefs), Rowen Fernandez (Armenia Bielefeld, Germany).

Defenders: Matthew Booth (Mamelodi Sundowns), Siboniso Gaxa (Mamelodi Sundowns), Morgan Gould (SuperSport United), Tsepo Masilela (Maccabi Haifa, Israel), Aaron Mokoena (Portsmouth, England), Bryce Moon (Panithinikos, Greece), Bongani Khumalo (SuperSport United), Innocent Mdledle(Orlando Pirates).

Midfielders: Lance Davids (SuperSport United), Kagisho Dikgacoi (Golden Arrows), Teko Modise (Orlando Pirates), Steven Pienaar (Everton, England), Macbeth Sibaya (Rubin Kazan, Russia), Siphiwe Tshabalala (Kaizer Chiefs), Benson Mhlongo (Orlando Pirates), Elrio van Heerden (Blackburn Rovers, England).

Strikers: Bernard Parker (Red Star Belgrade, Serbia), Katlego Mphela (Mamelodi Sundowns), Thembinkosi Fanteni (Maccabi Haifa, Israel), Katlego Mashego (Orlando Pirates)