Parreira adds punch The team that finished Thursday’s friendly against Colombia, rather than the one that started it, looks close to Bafana Bafana’s starting line-up for the opening match of the World Cup against Mexico PASSIONATE: Carlos Alberto Parreira expresses himself during the friendly against Colombia Picture: REUTERS Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira is at last showing his hand, with the list of those making the final cut becoming clearer. Unlike predecessor Joel Santana, Parreira has taken a more positive approach and in the second half made two important changes in midfield by introducing Steven Pienaar in the place of Reneilwe Letsholonyane and Kagisho Dikgacoi for the young Thanduyise Khuboni in the holding position. Santana preferred two holding midfielders while Parreira has opted for only one, pushing another player into attack. Judging by the coach’s body language, experimenting in midfield is now over and the two positions have been permanently taken. Khuboni has done extremely well and he is a definite starter for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. It would be self-defeating to expose him at this high level – as happened to Papi Zothwane, who was destroyed by the Zambians in Cape Town three years ago and hasn’t been the same player since. Khuboni, the young Golden Arrows midfielder, was given no room to manoeuvre by the quick and physical Colombians on Thursday. Dikgacoi came on and stabilised matters and he and veteran midfielder MacBeth Sibaya will slug it out for this dirty-work position. Letsholonyane and Lance Davids have been given ample opportunities to stake a claim in the engine room. Davids has dropped down the pecking order and will be lucky to be part of the final squad. Parreira finally revealed how he plans to use Pienaar in his team. He will keep Teko Modise and Siphiwe Tshabalala on the wings, with the Everton man penetrating from the middle. While he seems to have sorted out his midfield, the central defensive pairing continues to give the Brazilian sleepless nights. He has partnered Siyabonga Sangweni and Bongani Khumalo with captain Aaron Mokoena, but the defence is still as shaky as the Congress of the People’s leadership. Parreira must install the highly experienced Matthew Booth as Mokoena’s partner in the heart of the defence. This duo go back more than a decade and they also had a fantastic Confederations Cup tournament last year. While Sangweni and Khumalo are good players, they are too raw for an event of this magnitude and the lanky Booth is a veteran of major tournaments. The fullbacks do not provide much of a headache. Tsepo Masilela and Siboniso Gaxa are the automatic choices, with Bryce Moon and hard man Lucas Thwala providing back-up. Innocent Mdledle and Anele Ngcongca are likely to get the chop when the final list is sent to Fifa on Tuesday. There is a big poser in the goal-scoring department. With Katlego Mphela having proven the No1 shooter, there are question marks around who will play as the holding back striker in Parreira’s preferred 4-4-1-1 formation. Does he stick with Surprise Moriri, or does he bring in Benni McCarthy, who is on a major assignment to shed weight? Siyabonga Nomvethe has been working hard and is eager and willing whenever he gets a chance. Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Moeneeb Joseph played a blinder in the second half against Colombia, but knows Itumeleng Khune is far ahead of him in the race for the starting berth. Rowen Fernandez’s miraculous recovery has closed the doors for Shu-aib Walters, who sneaked in via the back door after Emille Baron’s lengthy injury. Franklin Cale has found the going a little tough and Bernard Parker seems to have taken the place of the hulking Mamelodi Sundowns left winger. Cale is your traditional old school winger who is at home whipping in dangerous crosses. He has struggled to fit into Parreira’s system of cutting inside and playing one-twos. Probable 23 Man Squad Goalkeepers: Itumeleng Khune, Moeneeb Josephs and Rowen Fernandez. Defenders: Matthew Booth, Aaron Mokoena, Siyabonga Sangweni, Bryce Moon, Siboniso Gaxa, Bongani Khumalo and Tshepo Masilela. Midfielders: Lucas Thwala, Macbeth Sibaya, Steven Pienaar, Siphiwe Tshabalala, Thanduyise Khuboni, Teko Modise, Kagisho Dikgacoi, Reneilwe Letsholonyane and Surprise Moriri Strikers: Katlego Mphela, Siyabonga Nomvethe, Bernard Parker and Benedict McCarthy. Source – Times.co.za 2010 World Cup Blog for the Fans
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Bafana final squad probables
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