As Bafana Bafana skipper, Aaron Mokoena runs on to the pitch in Limerick for his 50th cap tonight, against Ireland, the South African National team will be hoping for a better result than their 2 –0 loss to Germany at Leverkusen on the weekend.
The Portsmouth defender-cum-midfielder, who has 92 caps in all for South Africa, moved past Lucas Radebe’s record of 43 matches as captain of the side earlier in the year, and should now stretch his record past the 50 mark.
The South African team is going to have to up their game significantly in spite of Coach Joel Santana’s up-talking a rather poor and lackluster display from Bafana Bafana on Saturday bight against an energised and slick German team.
Coach Joel Santana and captain Aaron Mokoena insist these friendlies are a learning process and the skipper is expecting to gain more international insight against Giovanni Trapattoni’s men.
Bafana Bafana Team Preview
According to football365, Bafana, who employed three defensive midfielders against the Germans, is set to drop a destroyer – most likely Bevan Fransman in favour of Siphiwe Tshabalala. But goalkeeper Shu-Aib Walters will play no part in the encounter after breaking his finger in training and Steven Pienaar is a fitness doubt for the visitors.
Meanwhile, the hosts will be without senior players Robbie Keane, Richard Dunne, Shay Given and Kevin Kilbane, who have been rewarded for their hard-fought win in Cyprus with additional time off.
First National Cap for Clifford Ngobeni
Bafana Bafana coach Joel Santana will hand midfielder Clifford Ngobeni a first international cap when South Africa take on the Republic of Ireland in Limerick on Tuesday night.
According to Kickoff, Ngobeni, who has only ever featured in training matches for the national side before, is likely to be joined in the starting line-up by Siyabonga Nkosi and Mabhuti Khenyeza, although Richard Henyekane emerged as a possible starter, probably at the expense of Nkosi at training on Monday afternoon.
The Ajax Cape Town youngster will be part of an experimental, more attacking line-up against the under-strength Irish, who have sent the majority of their big-name players back to their respective clubs.
Photo: New Bafana Cap, Clifford Ngobeni. Kickoff.com
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