Signs of hope despite Afcon disgrace

With the latest round of 2010 qualifying matches underway around the planet, South Africa is firmly in the international spotlight as the hosts of the next World Cup.

Our early exit from the 2010 African Cup of Nations tournament is a major blow for the country’s World Cup campaign, but bruised Bafana fans should take comfort from the fact that some of the giants of international football won’t be booking their hotel rooms in South Africa just yet.

This weekend, 1998 World Cup winners France were outplayed 3-1 by Austria (ranked 101 in the world) marking a catastrophic start to their 2010 campaign. Defending World Cup champions Italy needed a last-minute goal to beat Cyprus 2-1 while England laboured to a 2-0 victory over Andorra, ranked186th in the world. And it’s been an unhappy year for five-times World Cup holders Brazil who were languishing in sixth place in the 10-team South American zone qualifier, until they beat Chile last weekend.

Following Bafana’s spluttering Afcon campaign, the SA Football Association has booked all the available dates on the FIFA calendar and lined up several top Asian sides. “We are moving forward. There is a silver lining in every setback and we will find ours in the fact that coach Santana has an extra four months to get Bafana ready for the 2010 World Cup,” said SAFA chief executive Raymond Hack.

There is also talk of using the Afcon tournament to send the national squad to South America for an intensive, month-long boot camp to knock the players into shape. Legendary Dutch football coach Guus Hiddink used similar methods to guide unfancied co-hosts South Korea to the World Cup semi-finals in 2002.

Despite mixed results, Bafana have displayed some magnificent football under both Carlos Parreira and Joel Santana. And for the record, we were, by far, the better side against Nigeria on Saturday. The talent is there and how it is shaped and directed will determine whether South Africa will regain its status as the continental powerhouse – when it really matters.