Mninawa Ntloko
10 October 2008
Johannesburg — THE curtain finally comes down on the national team's disastrous 2010 African Nations Cup qualifying campaign when Bafana Bafana face Equatorial Guinea in Malabo tomorrow, with only pride at stake.
After failing to qualify for the Angola tournament last month, the Bafana players said they were determined to restore the nation's confidence in the team and end the campaign with a morale-boosting win.
Russia-based defender Matthew Booth said while the game might be meaningless, Bafana could not afford defeat as the loser will be condemned to finishing in the bottom of a group that was won by Nigeria at a canter weeks ago.
"If it means restoring our pride in a meaningless match, then so be it," Booth said.
Greece-based defender Bryce Moon said they could not even contemplate the possibility of losing in Malabo.
"We are definitely not going there to lose this match," he said. "This is for the pride of our country after we failed to qualify for the African Nations Cup."
Tomorrow's encounter will present several fringe players with an opportunity to convince coach Joel Natalino Santana that they deserve more opportunities with the national team if they manage to get a chance to play.
Thembinkosi Fanteni, newcomer Bernard Parker and goalkeeper Brian Baloyi all said they would grab the chance if Santana gives them the nod.
Fanteni was dropped from the team after the 0-0 draw with Sierra Leone in June and seemed to have been blamed for the costly stalemate that ultimately contributed towards Bafana's failure to qualify for the continental showpiece in 2010.
Parker was the star of the show when a second-string Bafana beat a weak Malawi outfit last week and will want to graduate to the senior team. Baloyi was called up to the Bafana camp after a three-year absence and the 34-year-old said he believed he still had a future with the national team.
The gangling Booth -- who returned to the team in August after a three year absence -- hit out at the South African Football Association and said the ailing national team would not be struggling as they are at the moment if the SA U23 team, which qualified for the Sydney Olympics in 2000, was not dismantled.
"You can bring in players here and there, but they should have kept the core of the team, brought in talented players along the way.
"I am not saying that just because I was a member of that team. The point is now we have to start from scratch."
The class of 2000 will be remembered for their shock 3-1 win over a star-studded Brazil -- boasting a 20-year-old Ronaldinho -- at the Games in a pulsating match that many South Africans will never forget.
The Bafana squad will return on Sunday, and then proceed to Bloemfonte in on Monday, where they play against Ghana in a friendly international on Wednesday night.
BAFANA SQUAD
Goalkeepers -- Itumeleng Khune (Kaizer Chiefs), Brian Baloyi (Mamelodi Sundowns), Shu-Aib Walters (Bloemfontein Celtic)
Defenders -- Matthew Booth (Krylya Sovetov Samara), Bradley Carnell (Karlsruher), Bevan Fransman (Maccabi Netanya), Siboniso Gaxa (Sundowns), Morgan Gould (SuperSport United), Tsepo Masilela (Maccabi Haifa), Aaron Mokoena (Blackburn Rovers), Bryce Moon (Panathinaikos), Nasief Morris (Recreativo Huelva)
Midfielders -- Lance Davids (Djugardens), Kagisho Dikgacoi (Golden Arrows), Teko Modise (Orlando Pirates), Siyabonga Nkosi (Arminia Bielefeld), MacBeth Sibaya (Rubin Kazan), Masilo Modubi (KVC Westerlo), Siphiwe Tshabalala (Kaizer Chiefs), Lefa Tsutsulupa (Moroka Swallows).
Strikers -- Thembinkosi Fanteni (Maccabi Haifa), Katlego Mashego (SuperSport Utd ), Benni McCarthy (Blackburn Rovers), Bernard Parker (Thanda Royal Zulu)
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Business Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
