A light sprinkling of rain fell on Phokeng yesterday for the first time this week, perhaps an African blessing for Bafana Bafana before their first World Cup qualifying match against Ethiopia tomorrow (Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace, kick-off 3pm).
The start of a new campaign is usually full of optimism, and that is exactly what Bafana needed because to look at the recent past is to see a side sinking into a continental abyss.
The joke doing the rounds is that Bafana these days can only qualify for tournaments that they host – see the World Cup in 2010 and next year’s African Nations Cup.
The campaign for the 2014 World Cup gives coach Pitso Mosimane’s men a chance to silence these critics, and the draw they have been handed in Group A is hardly terrifying.
Whatever Bafana’s recent woes, they can surely have high hopes of topping a group that contains Ethiopia, neighbours Botswana and the Central African Republic, and taking their place in World Cup play-offs at home and away.
Ethiopia are probably the group’s underdogs, a side that had to battle through a preliminary round even to get this far. They thumped Somalia 5-0 in Addis Ababa, after a goalless away leg, to progress.
Bafana goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune, however, has warned that Bafana should not underestimate their East African opponents, and he should know. Khune was part of the side that was left embarrassed by Sierra Leone in the final game of 2012 Nations Cup qualifying, a goalless draw not enough to see them through.
Khune, the Kaizer Chiefs shot stopper, wasted time crudely towards the end of that match, and danced at the final whistle, thanks to a misunderstanding of the rules.
“It wasn’t nice to watch the Afcon on TV, knowing that we had a good team that was going to take us there, and unfortunately there were things we couldn’t control that happened on the last day of qualifiers,” he said yesterday.
Fiasco
“Now we have to forget about the past and focus on the future. The teams we think are smaller can catch us by surprise.
“We can go into the game confident to win and they can walk in and park the bus. Those are the teams we can’t underestimate, there are no small teams any more. They are motivated to play big teams, and they will want to prove a point.”
Aside from the rules fiasco, Bafana’s main problem in Nations Cup qualifying was the malaise that has afflicted the national team for some time now – not scoring goals.
It is safe to say that Bafana will have to achieve a better tally than four goals in six qualifiers if they are to win their World Cup qualifying group.
“I think things will change come this Sunday because we have players capable of scoring, players who have been setting the PSL alight,” said Khune.
“(Eleazar) Rodgers has been scoring left, right and centre for Santos, (Siyabonga) Nomvethe was the PSL’s top scorer, (Katlego) Mphela has started 15 (league) games for Sundowns and scored 10 goals.”
There have been mixed performances from Bafana’s strikers in training this week, with Mphela hardly looking in top form, and Rodgers looking by far the most alert of the squad’s front five.
Rodgers is likely to sit on the bench tomorrow, Mosimane preferring Mphela and Siyabonga Nomvethe.
But the Santos striker is delighted just to be in the mix for his third Bafana cap, having last played for the national side in 2008.
“I am very happy, this has been my best season ever in the Premiership,” he said.
His 12 goals put him second on the scoring charts behind Nomvethe.
“God played a big role… I am now challenging among the best strikers like Mphela and Nomvethe and I am just excited to get the opportunity.”
Ethiopia arrived in the country yesterday afternoon, and will train at the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace today in preparation for the game.
South Africa(probable, 4-4-2) – Khune; Ngcongca, Gould, Khumalo, Masilela; Pienaar, Khuboni, Letsohlonyane, Tshabalala; Nomvethe, Mphela.