Can Pienaar lead hosts South Africa into second round at World Cup?

By Kenneth Tan/Red Sports

No host country has ever failed to go beyond the preliminary group stage of a World Cup. With the advantage of playing on home soil, the hosts are often inspired by the massive support shown by their countrymen.

In 2002, home support played a role in getting Japan and South Korea into the second round for the first time in their history.

Can South Africa be similarly inspired by home ground advantage? Or will they buck the trend by being the first host to exit the competition at the group stage?

Here we bring you the hosts, passionately known as the Bafana Bafana, who will kick starts the World Cup on June 11th.

World Cup Pedigree
South Africa are considered minnows on the international stage and have only participated in two previous World Cup editions — in 1998 and in 2002. They exited the tournament after the first round on both occasions with their first-ever win coming against Slovenia in 2002.

Qualification
In an all-African bidding process, South Africa pipped Morocco and Egypt to host the 2010 World Cup. This will be the first time the tournament is held in an African nation. As hosts, they enjoyed automatic qualification for the finals.

Captain
With half a decade of experience in English football and 100 caps for his country, Aaron Mokoena is the perfect man to lead the Bafana Bafana despite his relative young age.

The 29-year-old is equally adept at the heart of defence and the middle of the park. Due to his tough-tackling style, he has earned the nickname “The Axe”. He will be keen to put his miserable season at Portsmouth behind him at the World Cup.

Coach
With 43 years of coaching experience, Carlos Alberto Parreira has seen it all.

The 67-year-old Brazilian is one of only two coaches who has steered four national teams to the World Cup, with three of them being Asian nations. He was also the coach for his national team in two spells, leading them to the World Cup title in 1994 before exiting at the quarter-final stage in 2006.

He initially took charge of South Africa in late 2006 before resigning in April 2008, citing health reasons. However he returned in October 2009 for his second spell as coach.

Players to Watch
Steven Pienaar — The 28-year-old is arguably the biggest star in the squad with his success overseas. Currently playing for Everton in England, he also played for Dutch club Ajax Amsterdam and German club Borussia Dortmund.

He was voted Everton’s Player of the Year for the 09/10 season with the highlight being his audaciously chipped goal against Arsenal.

Being the main creative source with his trickery on the ball and playmaking skills in midfield, South Africa will need him to be at his best if they want to impress at the World Cup.

Katlego Mphela — Katlego Mphela will be one to look out for with his impressive 15-goal haul in just 31 international appearances.

The 25-year-old forward, who plys his trade at local club Mamelodi Sundowns, impressed at the Confederations Cup last summer where he scored a brace against European champions Spain in the third and fourth placing match. The second was a 30-yard blockbuster free kick that beat Iker Casillas in the Spain goal.

Bernard Parker — Together with Mphela, Bernard Parker will have to take on the bulk of the scoring responsibilities for his goal-shy team.

The 24-year-old forward just came off an impressive season at Dutch club FC Twente and has a decent record of nine goals in 29 international appearances. His brace against New Zealand in the group stages led South Africa to the semi-finals of the Confederations Cup.

If he and Mphela find their scoring boots, local fans could be seeing a historic feat by the national team.

Team Strengths
As hosts, they will enjoy the presence of many local fans who will turn up in their unique costumes and trademark “vuvuzelas” to create a stirring and unique atmosphere at their matches.

Despite all the criticisms, the Bafana Bafana have hit a rich vein of form in their recent friendlies as they are unbeaten in their last 12 international games. That will ensure the South African players go into the World Cup brimming with confidence and with a platform to build on.

Team Weaknesses
Following the loss of form and retirement of top-class forwards Benni McCarthy and Sibusiso Zuma respectively, Carlos Alberto Parreira only called up three forwards in their 23-man squad.

The lack of options and firepower could prove costly for South Africa if they want to qualify for the last 16.

Also, with only a handful of players with experience playing in the top European leagues, the team could find themselves out of their depth playing in a top-class international tournament.

Overall Squad Strength
In the finalized 23-man squad confirmed last week, Carlos Alberto Parreira called up a total of 16 local-based players.

Three players — Steven Pienaar, Kagisho Dikgacoi and captain Aaron Mokoena — ply their trade in the English Premier League.

Four other players also play their club football in Europe — full back Anele Ngcongca in Belgium with Racing Genk, defender Tsepo Masilela in Israel with Maccabi Haifa, midfielder MacBeth Sibaya in Russia with Rubin Kazan and forward Bernard Parker in Holland with FC Twente.

Probable Starting 11
Moeneeb Josephs (GK), Anele Ngcongca (full back, Racing Genk), Matthew Booth (centre-back, Mamelodi Sundowns), Aaron Mokoena (centre-back, Portsmouth) (captain), Tsepo Masilela (full-back, Maccabi Haifa), Steven Pienaar (winger, Everton), Kagisho Dikgacoi (midfielder, Fulham), Teko Modise (midfielder, Orlando Pirates), Siphiwe Tshabalala (winger, Kaizer Chiefs), Katlego Mphela (forward, Mamelodi Sundowns), Bernard Parker (forward, FC Twente)

1st Round Predictions
South Africa are slotted in Group A alongside Mexico, France and Uruguay.

South Africa, along with Uruguay, are the underdogs in the group with France and Mexico expected to fight it out for the top spot. Thus a good start to their campaign will be absolutely important.

If they manage to topple Mexico in their opening match, they could go into their second match against Uruguay without the pressure on them. They are not expected to pick up any points against France in their last group match.

If they managed to pick up four points from their first two matches, it could see them squeeze into the second spot to qualify for the last 16.

Ed’s note: Red Sports will be covering the World Cup daily and so join us each day to share your opinions about the night’s action.

For the World Cup fixtures list with Singapore broadcast timings as well as group tables and the list of CCs with free screenings, go to: http://redsports.sg/2010-world-cup-fixtures-groups/

GROUP A	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
URUGUAY	3	2	1	0	4	0	+4	7
MEXICO	3	1	1	1	3	2	+1	4
SOUTH AFRICA	3	1	1	1	3	5	-2	4
FRANCE	3	0	1	2	1	4	-3	1

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For the World Cup fixtures list with Singapore broadcast timings as well as group tables and the list of CCs with free screenings, go to: http://redsports.sg/2010-world-cup-fixtures-groups/

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