Benni back for Bafana ... again
Brad Morgan
14 March 2008
Bafana Bafana get the opportunity to test their mettle against a highly ranked opponent when they take on Paraguay in a friendly international in Pretoria on 26 March. The South African squad includes striker Benni McCarthy, who earns yet another recall.
The Blackburn Rovers star was left out of the squad that contested the African Cup of Nations in January. That decision came as quite a shock after coach Carlos Alberto Parreira had wooed McCarthy to get him to return to international football as recently as September 2007.
Why Benni missed Ghana 2008?
With little explanation offered about his absence in Ghana, some have speculated that McCarthy asked Parreira to allow him to miss the African Cup of Nations so that he could concentrate on solidifying his place in the Blackburn team.
Interestingly, if that was the case, then the probable reason behind McCarthy's request - namely, Rovers' acquisition of Roque
Santa Cruz from Bayern Munich - will come into focus during the friendly on 26 March.
For Santa Cruz himself plays for Paraguay who, at 26 in the Fifa world rankings, are a considerable 45 places places above South Africa, who are in 71st place.
Goal scoring
In McCarthy's absence, South Africa scored only three goals in their three matches at the Cup of Nations' finals; two of those were netted by midfielder Elrio van Heerden, with Katlego Mphela managing the only goal by a striker.
Those facts from Ghana are relevant when considering the Paraguay game, because Van Heerden, who excelled at the Cup of Nations, is set to miss the friendly because of injury. Also, in Ghana, Sibusiso Zuma led the strike force; he has been omitted from the squad for the match against the South Americans.
Without getting into technicalities, two areas that need improvement from the African Cup of Nations leap to mind.
Firstly, South Africa need
to be more clinical in front of goal; the team created plenty of chances, but failed to take decent advantage of them. Secondly, the defence needs to be more consistent and not concede goals that one could attribute to lapses in concentration.
Solutions
To score goals, goal-scorers are needed. Therefore the decision to include McCarthy makes sense.
To tighten up the defences, the team needs to work on defensive communication and individual consistency. Benson Mhlongo struggled with consistency in Ghana and he is no longer part of the Bafana Bafana squad. That indicates that something is being done to address the side's defensive shortcomings.
Goalkeeper Rowen Fernandez is missing; he is getting over a finger injury and is short of playing time. In his absence, Itumeleng Khune, who cracked the nod in Bafana Bafana's recent 2-1 win over Zimbabwe, will likely start again, with Moneeb Josephs backing him up on the bench.
On the outside looking in
Three big names who didn't crack the African Cup of Nations squad - defender Bradley Carnell and midfielders Delron Buckley and Macbeth Sibaya – remain on the outside looking in.
Coach Parreira has continued to draw players mostly from PSL clubs, with 15 home-based players in the squad as opposed to seven foreign-based players.
The poor form of defending PSL champions, Mamelodi Sundowns, who are currently in twelfth place in the 16-team league, is reflected in the selection of only one Sundowns' player, Surprise Moriri, in the squad. The Brazilians have traditionally enjoyed strong representation in the national squad.
BAFANA BAFANA SQUAD
Goalkeepers
- Itumeleng Khune (Kaizer Chiefs)
- Moeneeb Josephs (Wits University)
Defenders
- Aaron Mokoena (Blackburn Rovers)
- Bongani Khumalo (SuperSport United)
- Mokete Tsotetsi (Kaizer Chiefs)
- Bryce Moon
(Ajax Cape Town)
- Nasief Morris (Panathinaikos)
- Tsepo Masilela (Maccabi Haifa)
- Innocent Mdledle (Orlando Pirates)
Midfielders
- Lance Davids (Djurgårdens)
- Thulasizwe Mbuyane (Free State Stars)
- Steven Pienaar (Everton)
- Surprise Moriri (Mamelodi Sundowns)
- Kagisho Dikgacoi (Golden Arrows)
- Bafo Biyela (AmaZulu)
- Bernard Parker (Thanda Royal Zulu)
- Teko Modise (Orlando Pirates)
- Simphiwe Tshabalala (Kaizer Chiefs)
- Sthembiso Ngcobo (Free State Stars)
Strikers
- Excellent Walaza (Orlando Pirates)
- Thembinkosi Fanteni (Maccabi Haifa)
- Benni McCarthy (Blackburn Rovers)
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