World Cup Team Profiles: Group A: South Africa

Teams / Ari Last / 17 February 2010 / Leave a comment Free £25 Bet

Seeing as they are the hosts, it would be rude not to know a little more about them. Fortunately we're on hand to fill you in on South Africa...

Recent World Cups have shown just how significant and advantageous being on home soil can be to a nation's chances of success.

Yet even so, South Africa are at a long [130.0] to win the tournament - a price that suggests that apart from a couple of shining lights, the current crop are woefully short of the quality required to harness the benefits of familiarity and home support.

Nation: South Africa

Also knows as...
Bafana Bafana

Road to South Africa...
Automatic qualification as tournament hosts.

World Cup Pedigree...
They've only qualified for the World Cup twice before and have never made it past the group stages. Their debut in the competition was in 1998 where they were unfortunate to be drawn in a tough group including Denmark and hosts France. In 2002 however their excuses for failure ran thin, and despite recording their first World Cup victory (1-0 against Slovenia), their failure to progress to the knockout stages was met with major disappointment back home.

They'll be relying on...
Steven Pienaar to stay injury- free and continue his wonderful Premier League form into the summer festivities. In a team lacking creativity and imagination going forward, Pienaar's ability on the ball and his eye for goal are of critical importance to the host nation's hopes of progress.

Something you may not have known is...
That until being recalled to the setup at the end of last year, it looked as if South Africa's all-time leading scorer Benni McCarthy would be omitted from the World Cup squad, after falling out with the coach. McCarthy's relationship with the national team and its supporters has been frosty at best for several years and the frontman has retired from international football on two previous occasions. However, after coach Carlos Alberto Perreira returned, McCarthy was convinced to do the same and barring any tantrums in the coming months, he looks set o be leading the Bafana Bafana front line come June.

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