FRANCE 98 – Match preview n°40

Benni McCarthy was just a year ago playing second division football in South Africa on bumpy pitches which several clubs shared with hungry goats.

Now the striker from humble roots in Cape Town is in an entirely different world as he prepares for Wednesday’s final World Cup group game against Saudi Arabia in Bordeaux (kick-off 4p.m. 1400 GMT). Since then, he has signed for mighty Dutch club Ajax and become a household name throughout Africa after being joint top scorer with seven goals on the way to the runners-up spot in February’s African Nations Cup.

And he is the only South African to score at this World Cup so far, having equalized against Denmark on Thursday. Just 20, McCarthy is out of the ordinary. He has gold in his teeth, diamonds in his ear and clearly a great deal of talent in his feet.

This striker, whose dyed brown hair makes him catch the eye, has shown maturity in this World Cup so far, after a moment of madness in the opening match of the African Nations Cup. He struck out at an opponent in the opening game against Angola and was lucky not to be sent off.

The-then coach Jomo Sono, one of the legends of South African football during the apartheid era which stopped a surely wonderful international career, said he immediately substituted Benni to prevent him getting dismissed later in the match. Last year McCarthy was in the under-20 team for the African championships in Morocco but bookings meant he missed the final against the host nation.

McCarthy so far does not have one booking and he looks to have matured following his opening two games. However Marseille defender Pierre Issa, Willem Jackson of Orlando Pirates, Saint Gallen’s David Nyathi and skipper Lucas Radebe, would be suspended should they earn another yellow card each against Saudi Arabia.

An amnesty of yellow cards in the knockout stages only applies to those on one yellow card following their final group game. South Africa will be relying on the skills of McCarthy in their Saudi Arabia fixture. If South Africa win 2-0 and Denmark lose to France, the Africans will qualify for the second round and probably meet Nigeria at the Stade de France on June 28.

” I know we can beat the Saudis as they are low on confidence and if a World Cup winning coach (Carlos Alberto Parreira) can’t get them to win a match then there is little hope that anyone else can, “ said McCarthy.

No-one would be more motivated for the match than South Africa’s French coach Philippe Troussier, who was sacked by Nigeria after leading them through the qualifiers. Saudi’s Mohammed Al Khilaiwi is suspended after a late tackle on Bixente Lizarazu in the 19th minute on Thursday when five red cards were shown in the day’s two matches. South African midfielder Alfred Phiri, sent off in the second half against Denmark, has been banned for the next three games and could only return if South Africa reached the semi-finals.

Troussier has had discipline problems with his team, saying only five players are preparing properly. Midfielder Brendan Augustine, sent home with Naughty Mokoena for spending Saturday night in a night club, apologized in a statement before they left for Paris on Monday. ” Although there were a number of factors that led to me breaking my curfew, my behaviour was unprofessional and unnecessary, “ the statement said.

South African officials also disclosed there had been two other incidents of staying out late by players, the first involving 15 players and five in the the second incident two days later. All will be fined. Meanwhile midfielder John ‘Shoes’ Mosheou criticized the expulsion of the two players, saying it was bad for morale and affected the team’s image.

Midfielder Saeed Al-Owairan, due to play on Wednesday, has had an up-and-down time in his career. He was the hero in 1994 when he ran all the way to the Belgian penalty area, beating four defenders before hooking the ball past a startled Michel Preud’homme.

The goal won the game and took the Saudis into the second round. He was then banned for two years for attending an illegal drinks party but then he was recalled to the side. Now the Saudis are out of the World Cup and a rift has been opened up amongst players following the sacking of coach Carlos Alberto Parreira and Mohammed al-Kharachi has been put in charge.