ANDREW MUCHINERIPI, Pretoria | Monday 11.00am.
SOUTH Africa will have only themselves to blame if they fail to reach the 2002 World Cup finals in Japan and South Korea by finishing ahead of Burkina Faso, Guinea, Malawi and Zimbabwe in Group E.
Bafana Bafana should win their four home matches and have nothing to fear from visits to Ouagadougou, Conkary, Blantyre and Harare (provided the ‘war veterans’ do not occupy the pitch!)
While Burkina Faso and Guinea will be new opponents at senior level, South Africa have pleasant memories of Malawi, beating the Flames 3-0 and 1-0 in an eliminator for the previous World Cup.
Rivalry with Zimbabwe goes back to August 1992 when Bafana Bafana were given the first of several rude awakenings to the realities of international football as they crashed 4-1 in an African Nations Cup qualifier.
There have been four meetings since and honours are now even with two wins each and a draw. More importantly, South Africa have adapted and grown stronger while Zimbabwe remain the great underachievers of African football.
Guinea boast a world-class striker in Aboubacar Titi Camara of Liverpool and seven goals against Uganda in a preliminary tie this month suggests a creative attack. However, they have defensive problems that Shaun Bartlett can exploit.
Burkina Faso rose from obscurity when they hosted the 1998 African Nations Cup and reached the semi-finals under controversial French coach Philippe Troussier, but have slipped back since.
The 10-round mini-league programme begins over the weekend of June 16-18 and ends on July 29 next year. Group winners qualify for the first finals to be staged in Asia and the first to be co-hosted.