Victory in Malawi on Sunday would ease South Africa’s passage to next year’s World Cup in Japan and Korea
Andrew Muchineripi
Rugby legend Naas Botha never hesitated to point out that the Currie Cup was not won in May, so perhaps the third round is a mite premature to pass World Cup judgement on Bafana Bafana. However, victory over Malawi in Blantyre on Sunday followed by success over Guinea in Port Elizabeth two weeks later would give South Africa a five-point lead at the halfway stage of the eight-match programme. And it is difficult to imagine our national team failing to make it to the 2002 finals in Japan and South Korea from that position, assuming moderate luck and reasonable form. So please forgive this humble scribe if he labels the match at Chichiri stadium vital in the sense that victory is certainly within our grasp against opponents held by Burkina Faso in their previous home match. It will not be easy, though, despite the considerable gap in rankings as only an Eric Tinkler goal divided the countries when they clashed in the preliminary round of the previous World Cup qualifying competition. The first goal could prove crucial as Malawi will be backed by a capacity 40 000 crowd in a country where enthusiasm for the game is so great it often borders on the fanatical. Bafana Bafana have managed just four goals in four matches under coach Carlos Queiroz, with Shaun Bartlett the only striker displaying the clinical finishing that secures international victories. Fellow hit men Benni McCarthy, Philemon Masinga and Siyabonga Nomvete have had their moments in the black, white, green and gold, but all have been off-form of late. The Benni of 1998 that took Africa by storm with seven goals at the Nations Cup in Burkina Faso seems a distant memory and it is hard to imagine him ever scoring four goals again, as he did against Namibia. Was too much media praise heaped on the humble Cape Town lad too soon, elevating him to an unsustainable level that eventually led to his departure from Ajax Amsterdam for unfashionable Spanish outfit Celta Vigo? I dread saying it lest I get indigestion from eating humble pie, but the thought has occurred that we may have seen the best of “Chippa”, who flopped in Mauritius in only his second Bafana match after a long absence. The old sharpness, ruthlessness and inspiration were not there, and it would be surprising were he to make the starting line-up although his style is ideally suited to away encounters. Nomvete saw a lot of the ball in Mauritius only to constantly run into culs-de-sac or, in one instance, a large advertising board just beyond the goalline on a soggy Bellevue pitch. Given this unsatisfactory situation, Queiroz might be tempted to go the 4-5-1 route, but that would mean using all five midfielders, and hurling uncapped Teboho Mokoena into a Blantyre cauldron does not make sense. Consistent Mokoena will get his chance sooner rather than later and, if coach and shrewd judge Jomo Sono is right and that would be par for the course his player can look forward to making an impact at the highest level.
The other four midfielders Sibusiso Zuma, Dumisa Ngobe, Delron Buckley and Alfred Phiri seem certain to start provided Queiroz abandons his moderately successful experiment with Pierre Issa in midfield. Besides, with Lucas Radebe not considered as he would have arrived in South Africa barely a day before the team flies to Central Africa, Issa will be needed as a central defensive partner for Frankie Schoeman. Given a choice between Benni and Bhele, my vote goes to the latter as a partner for unsung hero Bartlett, the man on whom so many of our hopes for goals rest. While the availability of some players varies from match to match, with defender Bradley Carnell a prime example, Bartlett constantly answers the call of his homeland despite being in an extremely precarious position.
Desperate to secure a permanent contract with English Premiership club Charlton Athletic, Bartlett can ill afford to leave The Valley for a week at a time and his actions are a wonderful demonstration of national pride. Andre Arendse is a certain starter between the posts and I would expect Cyril Nzama and David Kannemeyer to flank Schoeman and Issa in a defence likely to face a busy afternoon. An alternate plan is to use Aaron Mokoena in central defence and keep Issa in a defensive midfield position, with Phiri the likeliest player to drop out should this system be preferred. Malawi, now in the care of Danish coach Kim Splidsboel, probably surprised even themselves by forcing a 1-1 draw in Guinea and Bafana Bafana must prevent them scoring first at all costs.