Johannesburg - A combination of history, past and recent, should render the outcome of Tuesday night’s friendly between Bafana Bafana and Spain (FNB Stadium, 9pm) one of the more predictable in international football.
Yet, as they had their final training session on Monday, South Africa were going about their business as if it’s no more than a clash of lightweights against heavyweights.
Gordon Igesund ordered the session be open to the media just for the first 15 minutes, a routine exercise when faced with tough qualifiers, but rare for international friendlies, and even rarer for games where, to most, you don’t need to be a soothsayer to foretell the result.
Igesund dubbed Tuesday night’s clash so critical that he didn’t want media snooping around. “It’s a friendly, but it’s very important. I didn’t want you guys to see certain things. I didn’t want Spanish reporters to be here and looking at how we’ll approach the game,” the Bafana coach explained afterwards.
But whether the Spaniards will even spend time watching old Bafana tapes is unclear, for some of their players tweeted they had spent the afternoon viewing a recently released movie depicting the life of former President Nelson Mandela, while Bafana were hard at work under the blazing Johannesburg sun.
The world champions did have their final training session at Soccer City on Mondaynight, and boasting a 100% record against South Africa, they surely can’t be too flustered.
But Igesund expects them to approach Tuesday night’s game with some seriousness.
“It will be like a cup final. They are the world champions, with world-class players, so they will come here and show why they are such a great team,” he said.
“I don’t think they will hold back because there’s a World Cup coming next year, and every one of their players wants to be there. We too are highly motivated for this game. I’m not going to tell any of my players to lift their game because they know pretty well that they have to for such an important match.”
Spain have arrived in the country with 13 players who were in their squad when they last played Bafana, whereas their opponents have just five surviving members from that 2009 tournament, although it could be six had Tsepo Masilela not pulled out injured.
“It’s true that they have kept the same team, but they didn’t have a reason to change. They won the Euro Championship and the World Cup, so why change anything?
“With us, it’s a different story. We had to make changes because we haven’t qualified for anything over the last few years. Continuity is important, but when you’re not qualifying for tournaments you can’t keep the same squad,” Igesund said.
Daringly, Igesund vowed to start Tuesday nights’ game with three strikers, which could be suicidal against a side like Spain, who keep opponents chasing shadows for long periods.
“We will play three strikers,” the Bafana coach said, an indication that Tokelo Rantie, Bernard Parker and Kermit Erasmus will all start.
At the back, Thabo Nthethe and Bongani Khumalo will resume their partnership in central defence, but it’s in central midfield where Bafana will need to be strong to match Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta and David Silva.
Igesund may have to opt for the experience of Kagisho Dikgacoi alongside Dean Furman, supported by either Siphiwe Tshabalala or Daylon Claasen on the right, with Parker occupying the left wing.
However, Spain - who have lost only to Brazil in their past 33 matches dating back to November 2011 – might have too much firepower irrespective of what strategy Igesund uses.
Probable Bafana XI
Khune, Ngcongca, Khumalo, Nthethe, Matlaba, Claasen, Furman, Dikgacoi, Parker, Rantie, Erasmus.
Previous Matches:
12 June, 2002 (World Cup): Bafana 2 (Benni McCarthy 31; Lucas Radebe 53) Spain 3 (Raul 4, 56; Mendieta 44)
17 June 2009 (Confederations Cup): Bafana 0 Spain 2 (David Villa 52; Fernando Llorente 72)
28 June 2009 (Confederations Cup, third-place playoff): Bafana 2 (Katlego Mphela 73, 90) Spain 3 (Daniel Guiza 88, 89; Xabi Alonso 107)
Cape Times