Pic: (Internet)

BY Obakeng Maje

Santos striker Eleazar Rodgers has been withdrawn from the Bafana Bafana squad to face Gabon in an international friendly match on Friday, 15 June 2012.

The match will be played at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit, and will kickoff at 20h30.
Rodgers has been requested by his club to return to help them in the National First Division play-offs which were earlier suspended but will now resume on Wednesday, 20 June in Cape Town. Santos will face Chippa United.

“I think I am missing out on a wonderful opportunity to play for my country, but then again my club also needs me. It’s a kind of situation no player wants to find himself in, but like I have been saying everything happens for a reason. I just hope I get another chance to play for Bafana Bafana and show what I can give to the nation. It’s really sad but I have to take it the way it is. I also want to wish Bafana Bafana the best of luck against Gabon, hope they do really well,” said Rodgers.

Rodgers will depart for Cape Town on Friday morning (15 June).

The striker did not take part in the squad’s last training session at the Mbombela Stadium.

“This is out of my hands, but if you ask me I would have loved for the boy to stay and play for his country. We had worked so much with him at training and just on the eve of the match we get news that he has to return to his club. It’s a sad situation for the player and for the team, but we have to soldier on and find an alternative approach to the match,” said caretaker coach Steve Komphela, who now has 20 players to chose from for the clash against Gabon after releasing five players from the squad earlier in the week.
After two draws in the World Cup qualifiers, South Africa now faces a Gabon side that is ranked 49th in the world compared to Bafana Bafana’s 69th.

“We are optimistic that we will do well, whoever starts knows what they must do and what is expected of them.  The team has been formulated and we need the confidence and the inspiration not only for ourselves but also for the nation. It is bad when South Africans get into the mode of saying ‘I hope we win’ but we need to say a win is guaranteed irrespective of where Gabon is placed on the rankings,” said Komphela.

Meanwhile tickets for the match are still available.

Tickets on the lower and upper concourse are fifty rand each (R50) and can be bought at Computicket outlets, Shoprite and Shoprite stores around the country.

No tickets will be sold at the stadium on Match Day.

Park and Ride:
There will be a full park and ride in operation for the match on Friday, 15 June 2012 at the following pick-up points:
Riverside Mall
Public Transport Hub in the CBD
Show grounds

• All match tickets entitle spectators to use the buses

• Spectators must present a valid match ticket when boarding the buses to the Stadium

• There will be two pick -up points at the Stadium after the match that will be clearly marked

• The same buses will be travelling to Public Transport  Hub  and the Show grounds after the match

• Buses will transport spectators to the pick – up points until all spectators have left the stadium and there will be no need to rush for the buses

• There will be sufficient buses to transport all the spectators

• Buses will start leaving the pick-up points at 17h00

Bafana Bafana have dropped one place in Fifa’s latest rankings, released today.  

South Africa were ranked 67th last month and KickOff.com heard a few days ago that they were supposed to move up two more places, but the 1-1 draw with Ethiopia last Sunday means they dropped instead.
 
Bafana have also dropped one place in Africa to 15th.
 
Meanwhile, Bafana’s next opponents Botswana have dropped a massive 10 places from 106 to 116 in world rankings, while dropping to 32nd spot on the continent.
 
World Cup 2010 winners Spain remain the top side in the world, followed by the South Americans Uruguay, who have replaced Germany in second spot.
 
Ivory Coast are still holding on to first spot in Africa.
 
World top 10
Spain, Uruguay, Germany, Netherlands, Brazil, England, Argentina, Croatia, Denmark and Portugal
 
Africa top 10
Ivory Coast, Ghana, Algeria, Libya, Mali, Zambia, Tunisia, Egypt, Gabon and Sierra Leone
 
 
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BY Obakeng Maje

Bafana Bafana was counted among the best movers with a rise of four places from 71 to 67 on the latest Coca Cola FIFA World Rankings released on Friday, 01 June 2012.

South Africa is placed 14th on the continent.

The move should come as a morale booster ahead of South Africa’s 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil qualifier against Ethiopia that will take place on Sunday, 3 June at the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace in Phokeng near Rustenburg.

Kickoff is at 15h00.

Bafana Bafana will share the venue with their female counterparts, Banyana Banyana, who will be hosting Nigeria in an international friendly match starting at 19h00, also on Sunday.

Both teams have been practicing in the Northwest Province – with Banyana Banyana’s eye on the Olympic Games to be held in London late next month, while Bafana Bafana are embarking on the road to Brazil in 2014.

“Everyone is anticipating a good game and a win from Bafana Bafana and we promise our supporters that we will go all the way and win the first game and get all three points,” said Khune.

“That is possible with the support of our fans. We know that in the past people have written us off saying we are not delivering as we were not scoring goals, but I think things will change come this Sunday. We haven’t tasted success in the last few games and that is why the nation has lost confidence in us, but I believe good days are coming back starting this Sunday. The more goals we score and win games the more it helps to bring back the crowds.”

But the Kaizer Chiefs captain has also cautioned that it won’t be an easy match despite the visitors being ranked 138th.

“The teams that we think are small are the ones that catch us by surprise because we go into the match thinking we are going to win. So we don’t have to underestimate any opponent because more often than not, small teams are highly motivated to play against the big teams and they will want to prove a point but we are up to the challenge,” added Khune.

Striker Eleazar Rodgers hasn’t been in the national team since 2008 after he played two games against Malawi. He made his debut a year earlier against the same Malawi.

“It’s an honour to be here, and it’s a good feeling because everybody wants to represent their national team. It’s a great opportunity that I got and will use it wisely if I get the opportunity to play. Opportunity is there to be taken, and sometimes we get an opportunity but take it for granted and it never comes back, so I have been lucky to get it the second time around,” said Rodgers.

The Santos marksman only joined the Bafana Bafana camp after the postponement of the National First Division play-offs which his club was involved in.

“Everything happens for a reason, things worked out the way they have and I believe God has put me here for a reason and I will just make the best of it,” he said.

Bafana Bafana will hold their last training session on Saturday (2 June) morning at the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace.

Ethiopia, who arrived in South Africa on Friday afternoon, will complete their preparations at the match venue on Saturday evening.

BOTSWANA have confirmed they will host next month’s World Cup qualifier against Bafana Bafana at a tiny university stadium in Gaborone.

The date, kick off time and venue of the match have been transmitted to Fifa.

It will be played on June 9 at 3pm at the University of Botswana stadium, which can hold just 8000 spectators and faces the possibility of being overrun for the game.

It is the only venue available to Botswana because of pitch problems at the National stadium in Gaborone and the new venue in Lobatse.

Botswana had first asked the South African Football Association to host the June 9 clash, and Botswana to play at home in next year’s return game, but Safa, not surprisingly, rejected this proposal.

Playing at the stadium creates a major headache for Botswana officials because it could be difficult to control the number of spectators expected to turn up to see Bafana in action.

Botswana fans are desperate to see their improving side humble their more populous neighbours.

It also denies Botswana a chance for a major revenue-earning opportunity as Gaborone newspapers claim the BFA is bankrupt.

Bafana Bafana have moved up four places in the latest Fifa rankings, released today. 

Pitso Mosimane’s team has been on a downward spiral in the past few months, but they have now managed to arrest the downslide.

Bafana, with 500 points, have moved from position 71 to 67 in world rankings, but they are ranked a lowly 14th in Africa.
 
Meanwhile, the reigning world champions Spain, with 1 442 points, have retained their place as the top team in the world followed by Germany in second place.
 
Africa’s top side is Ivory Coast with 951 points, with the Elephants ranked 15th in the world.
 
World top 10
Spain, Germany, Uruguay, Netherlands, Portugal, Brazil, England, Croatia, Argentina and Denmark
 
Africa top 10
Ivory Coast, Ghana, Algeria, Mali, Zambia, Gabon, Libya, Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco
  
Follow me on Twitter @Taung_DailyNews