OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Thursday 1.15pm.
SOUTH African national soccer coach Trott Moloto has had to make some last-minute changes to the Bafana Bafana side that jets to Malta tonight.
Aaron Mokoena, defensive star of the Amaglug-glugs, has been given an urgent call to join the team which will play Malta as part of their centenary celebrations.
The Sowetan reported on Thursday that Mokoena and the other members of the Amaglug-glug side chosen to compete in the four-nations Nike Cup in the United States were scheduled to join the rest of the side in Germany next Monday.
Mokoena, however, won’t see action this Saturday at Vosloorus when the Amaglugs meet the New Zealand Oly Whites for the second-leg of their Olympic Qualifier, as he has picked up two yellow cards and a one-match suspension.
Benni McCarthy will also not take part in the match as he has also been booked twice.
With Mokoena joining Bafana Bafana, the team has 12 in-fielders and two goalkeepers, with Moloto having planned to take 15 players to Malta with the rest of the team coming on board for the Nike Cup.
Bafana defender Pierre Issa and striker George Koumantarakis, however, asked to be excused for the Malta friendly, and indicated that they will only be available for the American tournament, leaving Moloto with some headaches.
Mokoena is a suitable replacement for Issa and should play a big role in giving the Bafana defence some backbone. As far as strikers go, Moloto has been left with the two-pronged attack of Delron Buckley and Patrick Moyo.
After their Malta campaign Bafana will play their first Nike Cup match against the United States on June 3.