In their quest to improve on last year’s African Cup of Nations (Afcon) quarterfinal exit, Bafana Bafana will use Saturday’s friendly against Madagascar as part of their preparations for a couple of tough qualifiers coming up. The South African national side takes on Côte d’Ivoire in June and Burundi in July.
National coach Ephraim ”Shakes” Mashaba is not overly upset by the idea that Madagascar might send a second-string team as he wants to use this game to assess players and see their commitment to the national squad.
Mashaba says: ”The game against Madagascar is part of a programme of games [other friendly opponents include Jamaica and England] in preparation for the African Nation’s qualifiers.”
Mashaba’s experimentation in these friendlies will also aid him in having a broader pool for selection in the future to counteract the unavailability of foreign-based players.
The coach said: ”We want to widen the base for selection rather than looking at specific players.” This plan augurs well for the national side as Mashaba will not be held hostage by certain players in the future and it will also increase competition for the honour of donning the Bafana jersey.
Bafana Bafana have now played Madagascar three times and have yet to lose. All of the previous meetings have been at crucial junctures for the national side.
The first time was in 1994 in an Afcon qualifier, where they won 1-0, followed eight years later by a Council of Southern African Football Association (Cosafa) Cup quarterfinal match that ended 0-0 and then went to a penalty shootout which saw South Africa win 4-1.
The most recent game between the two sides was a friendly last year before South Africa’s departure for the World Cup, where the hosts won 1-0.
Once again the Madagascar game will provide a competitive environment for the selection of players to play for Bafana Bafana. Last year’s encounter was to select a squad for the World Cup and now it is to choose a squad for the Afcon qualifiers.
The side assembled by Mashaba consists of both local and foreign-based talent, with a few players expected to make their debut in Bafana colours.
The coach might give a first run to the likes of Joel Seroba of promoted Dynamos, a midfielder with eight goals in the premiership, and Golden Arrows striker Mabhuda Khanyeza, who has been scoring goals at club and under-23 level.
The player that all South Africans will be focused on is Steven Pienaar, who plays for Ajax Amsterdam and has been nominated as the Confederation of African Football’s young footballer of the year.
The youngster’s skills have been recognised in European champions’ league matches, where South Africans watched with pride as Ajax clashed with Arsenal. Everyone will want him to display those skills against the Indian Ocean islanders.
What Bafana Bafana has lacked up front is strikers that can finish off the opposition. Mashaba has gone for a goal poacher in George Kourmantarakis, now playing for Preston North End in the English first division, and local-is-lekker Lesley Manyathela, who has 15 goals in the premier soccer league.
The safe hands of captain and goalkeeper Brian Baloyi will be between the goalposts.
”Spiderman” will be exected to fill the void left by former number one goalkeeper André Arendse. The new captain said he was delighted to be chosen as he sees this as a great honour that also carries a lot of responsibility. Aiding the Kaizer Chiefs captain at the back will be captain of league rivals Orlando Pirates Mbulelo Mabizela.
Baloyi is expected to lead this new-look Bafana Bafana to victory against a mediocre Madagascar.
Mashaba said: ”I am looking for a good result, winning convincingly and not allowing Madagascar to score.” The scoreline that would please the South African coach is a 2-0 or 3-0 win.