The football team begin their qualification campaign this weekend, and two former players believe that they have enough to make it to 2026
With a world-class gauntlet laid out in front of them, could South Africa make an expectant nation proud?
Bafana coach Pitso Mosimane axed captain Aaron Mokoena on Tuesday for a 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Egypt next weekend.
New Bafana coach Pitso Mosimane on Thursday kept faith in under-fire captain Aaron Mokoena for an August 11 friendly against Ghana.
On the anniversary of the Soweto uprising, World Cup hosts South Africa will try to capture an emotional and much-needed triumph.
Good, bad or Benni, Carlos Alberto Parreira has made his final squad selection. <b>Phathisani Moyo</b> assesses the chosen 23.
Nelson Mandela, home advantage and vuvuzelas are among the elements South Africa hope will help avoid the shame of a first-round World Cup exit.
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/ 13 January 2010
Bafana’s Aaron Mokoena scored right at the end of extra-time as Portsmouth came from behind to beat Coventry City 2-1 in an FA Cup replay on Tuesday.
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/ 9 September 2009
Aaron Mokoena insisted South Africa’s players are still positive despite their run of six defeats stretching back to June.
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/ 7 September 2009
Aaron Mokoena believes South Africa will continue their learning process when they play Ireland in Limerick on Tuesday.
Aaron Mokoena has revealed he was forced to quit Blackburn and join Portsmouth to preserve his dream of captaining South Africa at the 2010 World Cup.
Bafana coach Joel Santana faces a tough decision when he axes six players from his 29-man provisional Confederations Cup squad on Thursday.
Not enough game in Europe for some star players could pose a challenge to Bafana’s technical team as they prepare for two friendlies later this month.
Bafana Bafana’s African dream is all but over — and head coach Joel Santana is in denial.
New Bafana Bafana coach Joel Santana now knows how hard he will have to work to earn his massive R1,5-million monthly salary and build a competitive team for the 2010 World Cup finals after his first game in charge ended in disappointing 2-0 defeat by Nigeria in the opening 2010 African Nations Cup Group Four qualifier on Sunday.
Now is the time for budding Bafana Bafana stars to stand up and be counted as South Africa take on Nigeria in a tough 2010 African Nations Cup qualifier in Abuja on Sunday. Kick-off is at 5pm South African time. There is no Benni McCarthy, and three midfield aces in Teko Modise, Delron Buckley and Lerato Chabangu are all nursing an assortment of injuries.
Bafana Bafana’s hard-tackling midfielder, Lance Davids, will not be star-struck when he lines up against Nigeria in what could be the biggest match of his career in Abuja on Sunday. Kick-off is at 5pm South African time. The 23-year-old Cape Town-born Davids is one of the promising stars who local fans are hoping will set the 2010 World Cup finals alight.
Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club on Saturday announced that, effective from June 1, Nike South Africa will be the official technical sponsor of the club for a period of four years. Nike partners with the world’s most successful players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Wayne Rooney as well as Benni McCarthy and Aaron Mokoena.
Benni McCarthy created a record and South Africa equalled one as they outclassed Paraguay 3-0 in a lively international friendly on Wednesday. Blackburn Rovers striker McCarthy headed the crucial second goal two minutes after half-time at Super Stadium near Pretoria to overtake retired Shaun Bartlett and become the leading national team scorer with 30 goals.
Seldom has a friendly international meant so much to 2010 Soccer World Cup hosts South Africa as that against Paraguay on Wednesday. Underperforming Bafana Bafana need a win to silence a growing band of critics, led by Sports Minister Makhenkesi Stofile, Parliament sports committee chairperson Butana Komphela and several top first-division coaches.
”Yo-yo man” Benni McCarthy is back in the Bafana Bafana squad to play Paraguay on March 26 — strengthening the suspicion that the enigmatic striker requested coach Carlos Albero Parreira not to include him in the squad for the recent African Nations Cup tournament in Ghana.
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/ 8 February 2008
Although his new side failed to make it past round one at the Africa Cup of Nations, Carlos Alberto Parreira won’t be entirely depressed. Bafana’s performance at the tournament in Egypt in 2006 was marked by a medley of administrative foibles, disruptive player mutinies, pre-tournament shenanigans and sepulchral lethargy that showed on the field when they failed to score.
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/ 3 February 2008
He conceded that it left a lump in the throat that they were back in South Africa at this early juncture of the Africa Cup of Nations, but worldly Bafana Bafana coach Carlos Alberto Parreira said it was heartening and encouraging that many positives had emerged in spite of South Africa’s opening-round elimination.
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/ 1 February 2008
Senegal and South Africa were eliminated from the African Nations Cup after a 1-1 draw in their last Group D match in Kumasi on Thursday. Both teams needed a win to revive slim hopes of reaching the last eight but finished behind Tunisia and Angola in the standings.
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/ 23 January 2008
Elrio van Heerden scored two minutes from full-time to salvage a 1-1 draw for South Africa against Angola on Wednesday in another 2008 African Nations Cup Group D thriller. No team arrived in Ghana more desperate to impress than South Africa after descending from champs to chumps in a 12-year freefall.
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/ 22 January 2008
Thousands of kilometres separate Tamale Stadium in northern Ghana from Old Trafford in England. But as Angola striker Mateus ”Manucho” Goncalves prepares for an Africa Cup of Nations Group D first-round showdown with South Africa on Wednesday, Manchester United will inevitably be on his mind.
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/ 18 January 2008
Bafana Bafana coach Carlos Alberto Parreira’s tinkering in the two warm-up matches before the team leaves on Saturday for the African Cup of Nations in Ghana has raised eyebrows. How will captain Aaron Mokoena cope with his shift in position from central defence into a holding midfield role once the opposition become more serious about attacking Bafana?
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/ 17 January 2008
South Africa goalkeeper Rowen Fernandez has been ruled out of the African Cup of Nations Group D clash against Angola in Ghana next Wednesday. The national football association said the Germany-based custodian injured several fingers in a warm-up match against Mozambique last Sunday and was a spectator when South Africa beat Botswana 2-1 on Wednesday.
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/ 17 January 2008
Morocco, Senegal and South Africa completed their African Cup of Nations preparations with 2-1 victories in friendly matches on Wednesday. South Africa needed a late goal from striker Sibusiso Zuma to squeeze past Botswana in Durban but captain Aaron Mokoena was carried off on a stretcher after a bad tackle.
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/ 15 January 2008
With all the tension and trauma surrounding Bafana Bafana’s forthcoming test of strength in the African Cup of Nations, the man in the middle of the cauldron of emotions displayed his usual cool and composed demeanour on Tuesday. And Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Parreira believes his Bafana squad are on course for their acid test in Ghana.
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/ 14 January 2008
Bafana Bafana earned a pass mark from their 2-0 warm-up win against Mozambique at Chatsworth Stadium on Sunday afternoon and demonstrated sufficient potential to view the coming African Cup of Nations with a degree of optimism.
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/ 11 January 2008
South Africa head for Ghana desperate to arrest a slide in African Nations Cup fortunes. Since that amazing day in February 1996 when Nelson Mandela presented the trophy to Neil Tovey, Bafana Bafana have performed worse at each subsequent edition. A second-place finish behind Egypt in the next edition of the biennial tournament was followed by third place in 2000.