South Africa will lack injured “hard men” Bongani Khumalo and Thanduyise Khuboni when they face defending champions Egypt in a crucial Africa Cup of Nations qualifier next month.
Victory for Bafana Bafana on June 5 at the 73 000-seat Cairo Stadium would eliminate the Pharaohs from the race for places at the 2012 finals being co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
Egypt have won a record seven Cup of Nations tournaments — including the last three — but are bottom of the Group G table with a solitary point behind South Africa (seven), Niger (six) and Sierra Leone (two) at the halfway stage.
While the Pharaohs have won the last three finals in Cairo, Accra and Luanda, former champions South Africa did not even qualify for the 2008 and 2010 tournaments.
Centreback Khumalo is recovering from a long-term injury sustained playing for English second-tier club Preston, to whom he was lent by Premiership outfit Tottenham Hotspur.
Swaziland-born Khumalo joined Spurs early this year after impressing during the 2010 Soccer World Cup hosted by South Africa and when helping unfashionable SuperSport United win a record-equalling three league titles in a row.
Defensive midfielder Khuboni, from Golden Arrows, is a more recent injury casualty, depriving Bafana Bafana of steel that is going to be in great demand against the desperate Egyptians.
Good news
Happier news for coach Pitso Mosimane is that first-choice left-back Tsepo Masilela, from Israeli club Maccabi Hafia, has fully recovery from an injury that ruled him out of a 1-0 victory over Egypt in Johannesburg two months ago.
That match was settled by a goal three minutes into stoppage time at Ellis Park from Mamelodi Sundowns striker Katlego Mphela after match-rusty Egypt created more clear-cut chances.
The successful popular uprising against authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak prevented any competitive domestic football being staged in Egypt for several months from January and this had a negative effect on the national squad.
Mosimane, who succeeded veteran Brazilian Carlos Alberto Parreira after South Africa made a first-round exit from the 2010 World Cup, has no illusions about the task awaiting his side in the Egyptian capital.
“We are going to their stable and they know nothing less than victory will keep their hopes alive of making the finals. I am expecting a very difficult match with more aggression from our rivals and higher stress levels for us.
“However, I am confident the squad will be able to absorb all of this in a match that will require a lot of brain power and a high level of tactical discipline.”
Sierra Leone host Niger the same weekend in a West Africa derby and need maximum points to get back into the reckoning with only group winners sure of places at the 16-team African football showcase next January and February.
Bafana squad:
Goalkeepers: Itumeleng Khune (Kaizer Chiefs), Mbongeni Mzimela (AmaZulu), Wayne Sandilands (Mamelodi Sundowns)
Defenders: Siyabonga Sangweni and Mzivukile Tom (Golden Arrows), Bevan Fransman (Hapoel Tel Aviv, Israel), Siboniso Gaxa (Lierse, Belgium), Morgan Gould (SuperSport), Happy Jele (Orlando Pirates), Tsepo Masilela (Maccabi Haifa, Israel), Anele Ngcongca (Racing Genk, Belgium)
Midfielders: Andile Jali and Tlou Segolela (Pirates), Reneilwe Letsholonyane and Siphiwe Tshabalala (Chiefs), George Maluleka and Thulani Serero (Ajax Cape Town), Kagisho Dikgacoi (Fulham, England), Hlompho Kekana (Bloemfontein Celtic), Steven Pienaar (Tottenham, England (captain)
Strikers: Katlego Mphela (Sundowns), Bernard Parker (Twente, The Netherlands), Davide Somma (Leeds United, England). — AFP