Bafana blow it against Sierra Leone
Brad Morgan
23 June 2008
Qualifying for the African Cup of Nations in 2010 is considered a vital and necessary part of Bafana Bafana's preparation for the 2010 Fifa World Cup. However, after a poor goalless draw against Sierra Leone on Saturday, South Africa's hopes of making it to the Cup of Nations finals in Angola appear slim.
The past two weeks have proved extremely disappointing for Bafana, who lost 1-0 away to Sierra Leone on 13 June and followed that up with the weekend's goalless draw.
Just how disappointing were those results? A look at the Fifa World Rankings gives an indication. South Africa are ranked 68th in the world, while Sierra Leone occupy 163rd position. That's behind such footballing luminaries as the Netherlands Antilles (146), Lesotho (150), Vanuatu (152), and Samoa (157).
Pressure
The pressure is on South Africa's coach Joel Santana, but it hasn't been the easiest introduction for the Brazilian who, shortly after arriving to replace Carlos Alberto Parreira, was quickly thrown into the deep end with a clash against Nigeria in Abuja.
Immediately after that clash - one-sided 2-0 loss - a match against Equatorial Guinea followed, and then the home and away games against Sierra Leone took place.
Equatorial Guinea, ranked 74th by Fifa, were dispatched 4-1 by South Africa at the Atteridgeville Super Stadium, where Bafana took on Sierra Leone on Saturday. That same Equatorial Guinea team beat Sierra Leone 2-0 when the two sides met.
This past weekend Nigeria beat Equatorial Guinea 2-0 to become the first team to book its place in Angola.
Group standings
With four wins from four outings, the Super Eagles have 12 points. South Africa, second in the group, have four points and lead Sierra Leone on goal difference, while Equatorial Guinea have three points.
Bafana Bafana coach Santana is under ever-increasing pressure because of his team's luke-warm form. One wonders, however, where his responsibility for the team's disappointing results ends, and where the responsibility of the players begins.
There are a number of other questions that come to mind, which is worrying because there are far more questions than answers with the World Cup only two years away.
The questions include whether or not Santana's approach is too negative - he used only a single striker in Saturday's home game; whether or not his team selection is right, considering the inconsistent nature of Bafana's performances; and whether or not SA's goal scoring problems can, and should be, remedied by the nomadic Benni McCarthy, whose commitment to the national team is questionable at best.
African Cup of Nations qualifying
As hosts, South Africa is guaranteed a place at the 2010 Fifa World Cup, but not at the African Cup of Nations.
The 12 Cup of Nations group winners will qualify for the finals in Angola, along with the eight best runners-up. At present, South Africa is the worst-placed of the group runners-up. With a home game against the rampant Nigerians and an away game against Equatorial Guinea coming up, the signs are not promising for Bafana Bafana.
Given past history, one also wonders whether or not the South African Football Association (Safa) would give Santana the sack if Bafana fail to make it to Angola.
Such a step has been taken in the past before a major tournament on more than one occasion, but with the Fifa World Cup being hosted on home soil would Safa once again take such a controversial step so close to the hosting of the event? After all, the deck has admittedly been loaded against Santana, with the timing of his takeover from Parreira hardly ideal.
Concern
A strong performance by Bafana in the World Cup is considered a hugely important ingredient towards ensuring the first World Cup hosted on African soil is a success. That's why there is so much concern about the South African national team's performances.
On Saturday at the Super Stadium, it became clear from the start that Sierra Leone were interested only in playing for a draw. They went into defensive mode and South Africa failed to break it down, which was worrying, considering that the visitors could hardly be mistaken for a defensive powerhouse, like Italy.
Add to that Bafana's failure to score in their away loss to Sierra Leone and there is plenty to be concerned about.
South Africa needed a win on Saturday to keep alive reasonable hopes of qualifying as one of the eight best runners-up. Hopes were high that they would win, and win easily, after their two previous outings at the Super Stadium ended in a 3-0 victory over Paraguay and a 4-1 success against Equatorial Guinea. Sadly, the performance never approached those levels.
Curious decision
As if Bafana's performance on the field against Sierra Leone was not bad enough – with the team missing chance after chance – the referee made a curious decision that robbed Santana's side of a win.
After 67 minutes, the ball found the back of the Sierra Leone net thanks to an own goal, but the referee ruled offsides. From an own goal? That decision defies logic, but it simply put an exclamation mark on a disastrous outing for Bafana Bafana.
After the game, coach Santana remained defiant and accused the visitors of not trying to win and rather playing for a draw. His assertion was accurate, but it is his job and the job of his players to deal with such obstacles to victory.
A major improvement is required and there no longer is any time in which to lay a foundation. It is simply time to start producing consistent winning results. Bafana Bafana fans need that and the 2010 Fifa World Cup needs that too.
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