Sport

Bafana solid but goalless against Korea

Brad Morgan

23 April 2010

South Africa were the better side overall and dominant in defence, but failed to turn possession into goals as they draw 0-0 against North Korea in their latest World Cup warm-up match in Wiesbaden, Germany on Thursday evening.

It was a game of two halves, with Bafana Bafana, playing without the team's European-based stars, dictating the opening stanza, and the Koreans - who will also be in South Africa for the 2010 Fifa World Cup in June and July - holding the upper hand in the second half.

Surprise Moriri almost put South Africa ahead after 20 minutes when he headed narrowly wide.

Denied

Katlego Mphela, the leading scorer in South Africa's PSL this past season, then had two good opportunities to score, but his tame shot was denied by goalkeeper Ri Myung Guk in the 26th minute, and shortly after that he fired wide.

In the second half, North Korea's Ji Yum Nam blasted a shot just wide from 20 metres out, hitting the side netting.

While it is easy to criticise South Africa's performance, the team that faced the Koreans is unlikely to resemble the team that will be in action during the World Cup. And, poor finishing aside, there was some good play, with the players looking comfortable on the ball and passing it around nicely while keeping possession.

Rhythm

Commenting after the game, Bafana Bafana coach Carlos Alberto Parreira told Kickoff: "It is crucial that my players face teams who have qualified for the World Cup. We need games like this to develop our rhythm.

"It was our first international since the end of March and North Korea were difficult opponents who played very defensively. We created some chances but did not take them."

South Africa will face Asian opposition again on Wednesday 28 April, when they take on China. Although the Chinese didn't qualify for the World Cup, they are ranked above both North Korea and South Africa, in 84th place in the Fifa World Rankings.

Limited match opportunities

Match opportunities have been limited for Bafana Bafana in Germany. They had been due to play a number of games against German clubs, but those matches have been called off because they were against lower league opposition and coach Parreira was looking for better challenges.

The games that had been lined up were against Bundesliga club FC Nurnberg's reserve team, second division outfit SpVgg Greuther Fürth and SpVgg Unterhaching from the third division.

During their recent camp in South America, Bafana played mostly against Brazilian club team's reserves, with their only international a match against Paraguay. In Germany, they have played North Korea and will still face China. Again, however, the majority of the scheduled matches were against lower level club opposition. In the first quarter of the year, they faced only Namibia and Zimbabwe.

Contrast

Contrast that with the North Koreans. Since the beginning of the year, they have faced Iran, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, Mexico and now South Africa. Still to come before the World Cup are matches against Paraguay and Greece.

Judging from comments by Bafana Bafana coach Parreira, he would have far preferred a schedule resembling the North Koreans' one than the schedule that South Africa has so far faced.

Parreira can at least console himself with the fact that Bafana Bafana have friendlies against Colombia and Denmark, both ranked inside the top 40 teams in the world, scheduled in the last two weeks before the World Cup.