In what seems a desperate bid to find form and keep alive hopes of qualifying for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations in Angola, the South African Football Association (Safa) has arranged a friendly game for Bafana Bafana against Australia’s Socceroos in the United Kingdom on August 19.
This was confirmed on Wednesday by Safa CEO Raymond Hack from Switzerland, where he is attending the Euro 2008 tournament as part of a massive 2010 World Cup local organising committee contingent that has invaded the tournament.
”Everything is in place between South Africa and Australia for the match between the two countries,” added Hack, ”and all that is still required is the permission from the English FA to stage the game in England — which should be no more than a formality.”
It will be the sixth time Bafana and the Socceroos have met in a soccer international since South Africa’s readmission into Fifa in 1992, with Australia winning three of the previous games, South Africa winning once and the fifth encounter ending in a draw.
For South Africa to stand a chance of avoiding the embarrassment of failing to qualify for its own confederation’s tournament on the eve of hosting the 2010 World Cup, three particularly favourable results are essential in forthcoming African Nations qualifying encounters.
Bafana must beat Nigeria’s svelte Super Eagles at home, record a victory over Equatorial Guinea away from home and pray that Equatorial Guinea somehow manage to beat the improving Sierra Leone in an away fixture.
Bookmakers will be offering substantial odds against all these three results materialising, with anything less resulting in South Africa being ignominiously booted out of the Nations Cup finals at only the second of three qualifying stages.
And, even with three favourable results in the fateful games that are to follow in September and October, there is no certainty Bafana will be making the vital trip to Angola. — Sapa