Bafana Bafana striker Benedict McCarthy showed why he is one of the most wanted strikers in Europe when he scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Turkey in the Reunification Cup in Hong Kong on Thursday.
Bafana started the game without any urgency but in the second half coach Jomo Sono substituted three players and the South Africans began to play with purpose. The win was Bafana Bafana?s fourth against European national teams.
The performance in Hong Kong has given Sono some idea of who should be in the starting line up when they open their World Cup
campaign against Paraguay next weekend.
Matthew Booth will not have such happy memories of Hong Kong, though, as the central defender sustained an injury during training that ruled him out of the World Cup. This allowed Jacob Lekgetho to sneak into the squad 24 hours before the final deadline for list to be given to world governing body Fifa.
The Lokomotiv Moscow defender Lekgetho did not feature in Sono?s game against Turkey but might play in the last preparation game, against club side FC Kobe in Uneno, Japan, on Sunday. Bafana Bafana have not impressed much in their previous warm up games losing to Saudi Arabia and Georgia, winning against minnows Botswana and drawing with Ecuador.
Their win against Scotland in their first game in the Reunification Cup gave the final 23 players the morale booster they needed. That said, friendlies will count for nothing when they face Paraguay, Slovenia and Spain in Group B in Korea.Â
As the preparations draw to an end before they go into their final training camp on Monday in Busan, Korea Sono and his technical team will have to work on set pieces and the strike force. They will have to find the right combination between McCarthy, George Koumantarakis and Siya-bonga Nomvete up front.
Jabu Pule will have to play behind the two strikers if he is to be utilised to his full potential, with Sibusiso Zuma resuming his wing role. The midfield combination of Tebogo Mokoena and Macbeth Sibaya worked well against Scotland with the defence a bit suspect when they were caught on the overlap. Lekgetho could solve this problem.
June 2, when they play Paraguay, will be Judgement Day for Bafana Bafana and Sono to see whether their preparations were up to scratch. Paraguay sent out a warning by beating Sweden 2-1 last week in Stockholm.