No Sibaya, Carnell, Pienaar, Zuma, Fortune...

By Farouk Abrahams

Bafana Bafana's preparations for next week's friendly international against England in Durban reached farcical proportions on day with the withdrawal of midfielder Mcbeth Sibaya and left back Bradley Carnell.

Team media liaison officer Sthembele Khala said Safa have been informed that Sibaya, who only recently joined Russian Premier League side Rubin Kazan, and Carnell, who has been in great form for German Bundesliga outfit VfB Stuttgart, would not honour their call-ups due to crucial club commitments.

Already hard hit by the withdrawals of key playmakers Sibusiso Zuma and Steven Pienaar, coupled with Safa's refusal to patch up their differences with overseas-based stars Benni McCarthy, Shaun Bartlett and Quinton Fortune, Bafana coach Shakes Mashaba will be hard pressed to come up with a combination capable of giving a quality England team a decent run for their money. The Bafana squad will be named on Thursday.

Mashaba, who has spent the past few months building towards his team's crucial African Nations Cup qualifiers against Burundi and Ivory Coast next month, was looking at the England match as the dress rehearsal. After handing out Bafana caps willy-nilly, the coach had planned to unveil the real Bafana team in the high-profile clash in Durban.

The action on the pitch will be a crucial pointer to how far Mashaba has taken the national team. A weakened Bafana side at the wrong end of the final result would take the shine off South Africa's international launch of their World Cup 2010 bid.

The coach's dream of fielding a powerful team against the English is fast turning into a nightmare. In midfield, especially, Mashaba can ill-afford to make do without the services of Zuma (FC Copenhagen) and Sibaya, who were the only genuine shining lights when Bafana recently plodded their way to a goalless draw against Jamaica at Athlone Stadium.

Unless the follow-up letters sent to their clubs have the desired effect, Mashaba will be forced to tackle David Beckham and Co with a predominantly locally-based side.

Confirming the latest setbacks, Khala said: "The coach is not happy with the way things are shaping. He is currently in Durban to check out a few things, but will be back in Johannesburg (today) for the announcement of the squad.

"We are obviously hoping for a favourable response to the letters sent to the clubs concerned. The issue of replacements will only be addressed once we have exhausted our options to get the targeted players released for the match."

An England engine room made up of players of the calibre of Liverpool's Steven Gerrard and Danny Murphy and Manchester United stars Paul Scholes and Beckham is not expected to raise much of a sweat against some of the choices who made the Bafana side against the Reggae Boyz.

That's where the no-nonsense approach of Sibaya, the guile of Pienaar, the pace and creativity of Zuma out wide and the experience of the in-form Carnell in defence would have been crucial.

Local fans stand to be robbed of some wonderful individual rivalries all over the pitch.

Mashaba does have another option, though, and a key one at that. He can simply dictate to Safa the need to kiss and make up with the prodigals.

Fortune, if he reproduces what he does for Manchester United, can restore the balance in the heart of the midfield, while McCarthy and Bartlett will, without any doubt, add the international class in the striking department.

The England camp have also had to deal with late withdrawals, with Newcastle United star Kieron Dyer the latest to pull out due to injury. Rising West Ham United star Joe Cole has been named as his replacement in a midfield hardly shaken by the setbacks.

Ashley Cole, Wayne Bridge and James Beattie will miss the trip to South Africa as they are involved in Saturday's FA Cup final in Cardiff, while skillful left-side player Owen Hargreaves will be playing in Germany's version of the knockout competition.