OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Wednesday 3.00pm.
BAFANA Bafana coach Trott Moloto left out key European-based players and called up five new faces when he named his squad on Tuesday for next week’s World Cup qualifier against Lesotho.
Moloto said he wants to concentrate on developing domestic-based talent for a heavy schedule of matches in the next three months.
He said he also wants to give players like captain Lucas Radebe of English premier league club Leeds United and midfielder Eric Tinkler of promotion-chasing Barnsley the chance to concentrate on their club careers.
There are only six European-based players in the 18-man party and seven surviving members of the squad which finished third in the African Nations’ Cup finals last month.
Swiss-based striker Shaun Bartlett has been named as the new captain.
The four new caps in the side are David Kannemeyer, Joseph Ngake, Jabu Pule and Arthur Zwane.
Bolton Wanderers and Bafana central defender Mark Fish was not considered since he has retired from international football.
South Africa play Lesotho in Maseru on April 9 in their first round, first leg qualifier with the return match in Bloemfontein on March 22.
They then meet Mauritius in a Cosafa Castle Cup first round match in Phokeng on April 29. In May South Africa play friendlies away in Libya and Malta and then compete in the US Cup with hosts the United States, Ireland and Mexico in June.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Brian Baloyi (Kaizer Chiefs), John Tlale (Mamelodi Sundowns)
Defenders: Bradley Carnell (VfB Stuttgart, Germany), Pierre Issa (Marseille, France), David Kannemeyer (Cape Town Ajax), Hilton Jordaan (Jomo Cosmos), Aaron Mokoena (Ajax Amsterdam, Netherlands), Frank Schoeman (Mamelodi Sundowns)
Midfielders: Thabo Mngomeni (Orlando Pirates), Josep Ngake (Orlando Pirates), Dumisa Ngobe (Ankaragucu, Turkey), Jabu Pule (Kaizer Chiefs), Godfrey Sapula (Jomo Cosmos), Isaac Shai (Mamelodi Sundowns), Arthur Zwane (Classic)
Strikers: Shaun Bartlett (FC Zurich, Switzerland), Delron Buckley (VfL Bochum, Germany), Siyabonga Nomvete (Kaizer Chiefs)