Bafana need a miracle
2010-06-16 23:32
Bafana Bafana’s World Cup bubble burst tonight when they were
thrashed 3-0 by Uruguay.
Now Bafana are in danger of not qualifying for the second round of
the tournament and would need a miracle to advance: They would have to beat
France convincingly in Bloemfontein on Tuesday if they are to book a place in
the last-16 round.
Bafana did not only concede three goals, goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune
also saw red when he was ejected from the game in the 79th minute after he
brought down Luis Suarez. Diego Forlan, who had earlier opened the scoring in
the 23rd minute, converted from the resultant spot kick.
Playing with one man down was always going to be dangerous for
Bafana as they opened up at the back. It therefore came as no surprise when
Alvaro Pereira put the final nail in Bafana’s coffin with a last-minute tap-in,
which sent the partisan Uruguay crowd into a frenzy and silenced the 43 000 or
so South Africans.
This was a far from convincing Bafana performance as they rarely
threatened the South Americans. In fact, they only had a few scoring chances
throughout the game, as their ploy of playing only one striker, Katlego Mphela,
was ineffective.
Carlos Parreira would have to rethink his strategies in next week’s
game, for anything besides a win would mean the end of the road for the
hosts.
France play Mexico at Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane on Thursday
evening.