FRANCE 98 – General Media News Template

South Africa captain Lucas Radebe says he leads a great team that is going to cause upsets at the World Cup next month in France.

The tall central defender from English Premiership club Leeds United spoke to reporters here Wednesday after Bafana Bafana (The Boys) arrived from Argentina en route to a training camp in Stuttgart. Matches against a Bundesliga XI, a Bundesliga Youth XI and Iceland in the southern German city will complete preparations for the opening Group C game against France on June 12.

” Watch out of us in France because we are going to surprise a few teams. We have a lot of quality footballers who are used to European conditions, “ Radebe warned. ” I believe South Africa has a great team that will do our nation proud in its first appearance at the World Cup. We have character and commitment and are correcting mistakes quickly. “ Reacting to the 2-0 friendly defeat in Argentina on Monday, Radebe said the result was irrelevant and the former African champions had proved they could perform on the same stage as the leading football nations. He singled out midfielder Quinton Fortune, a reserve at Spanish club Atletico Madrid, for special praise after a performance expected to clinch the birthday boy a place in the line-up against France. Cape Town-born Fortune turned 21 on Monday and was outstanding as an offensive, left-side midfielder in only his seventh appearance for Bafana Bafana.

” Quinton was prepared to take on big-name players and beat them and came close to scoring in the early stages. His willingness to work in defence and attack impressed me, “ Radebe said. ” He is also prepared to work hard and that is going to be a valuable asset when the World Cup begins. He must be a strong contender for a place against France. “

Troussier, a Frenchman who has spent 10 years coaching around Africa, said he would change the team for the first match in Stuttgart on Saturday without indicating which players were in contention. South Africa, who also face Denmark and Saudi Arabia in Group C, have 24 players in Germany and two must drop out by June 2, the deadline for naming World Cup squads.

The other African qualifiers are Olympic champions Nigeria, Cameroon, Morocco and Tunisia with the Nigerian Super Eagles considered the most powerful challengers.