SOUTH AFRICA PROFILE: An easy passage through to the 2002 finals may have blunted any edge South Africa had writes Paul Doyle

South Africa's dismay at not being designated hosts of the 2006 World Cup must surely have been at least slightly diluted by the ease of the qualification route they were assigned for the 2002 edition.

While three of the continent's traditional powerhouses found themselves in the same group (Morocco, Egypt, and Algeria - none of whom qualified because Senegal stunned the lot by topping the pool), the men from the Rainbow Nation breezed past Malawi and Lesotho with flying colours (to make matters even more straight-forward, their only serious rivals in the group, Guinea, were expelled by FIFA because the government in Conakry repeatedly interfered with the running of the Guinean Football Federation).

Because of the ease of their passage to Asia, it is difficult to assess South Africa's strength. The 'Bafana Bafana', as they are nicknamed (the U-21 side are known as 'Amaglug-glug'!), are almost unique amongst top African national sides insofar as most of their squad is taken from their domestic championship, one of the only professional leagues in the continent.

Reflecting this, the South African football federation nominated Carlos Queiroz as national coach. The Portuguese technician had previously been in charge of developing 'soccer' in the United States, a country whose youngish league is considered to be of a similar standard to South Africa's and the thinking was that Queiroz would use his experience of both the old and new worlds of football to sculpt South Africa into a powerful force. Alas, Bafana Bafana were awful in last January's African Nations Cup, and Queiroz was given the boot.

Queiroz was replaced last March by Jomo Somo, whose previous spell in charge of the national team ended in bitter fashion when he was unceremoniously dumped just a few weeks ahead of the 1998 Finals. His first matches at the helm this time have seen the South Africans succomb to miserable 4-1 defeats by Georgia and Saudi Arabia.

As for the players, though the bulk of them are locally based, South Africa's major stars are based in Europe. And that has not necessarily been a positive thing for the team.

Two of their erstwhile stalwarts, Phil Masinga and Mark Fish have retired from international football because of pressure from their clubs, though Somo at least managed to persuade one star, Leeds' Lucas Radebe to come out of retirement for the World Cup - how fit he is remains to be seen. Another man who has changed his mind about retirement is Benni McCarthy, who, ever since going to Porto on loan from Celta Vigo earlier this season, has been in blistering form. McCarthy seems sure to spearhead the South African attack.

McCarthy's return to the international fold will go some way towards compensating for the loss through injury of Charlton Shaun Bartlett, an experienced striker for his country.

South Africa left France '98 a deflated country. Buoyed by lifting the African Nations Cup at the first attempt, many South Africans believed they would take to the world stage with similar swagger, but bad luck (in the shape of two own goals from captain Pierre Issa) and bad finishing meant all they had to show after first round elimination was a drab draw with Saudi Arabia.

This time round, they will, obviously, hope to go further, but they don't seem to have the requisite artillery. One man, however, who will ensure that the Bafana Bafana are anything but drab is frontman Sibuisou Zuma (left).

Zuma could be one of the stars of the World Cup, though he'll probably only have three matches in which to strut his stuff, and will no doubt earn himself a move away from FC Copenhagen to one of the world's top clubs. A forward who roves all across the frontline, Zuma combines flamboyant skill with phenomenal speed and energy - a nightmare to mark, a dream to watch.

With players like Zuma, McCarthy, and Siyabonga Nomvete, South African may well entertain; but not for long - they'll be on the first plance home.

Squad:

Goalkeepers
16-Andre Arendse (Santos), 20-Calvin Marlin (Ajax Cape Town), 1-Hans Vonk (Heerenveen/Ned)

Defenders
5-Jacob Lekgetho (Lokomotiv Moscow/Rus), 3-Bradley Carnell (VfB Stuttgart/Ger), 13-Pierre Issa (Watford/Eng), 4-Aaron Mokoena (Germinal Beerschot/Bel), 22-Thabang Molefe (Jomo Cosmos), 2-Cyril Nzama (Kaizer Chiefs), 19-Lucas Radebe (Leeds/Eng)

Midfielders
18-Delron Buckley (VfL Bochum/Ger), 7-Quinton Fortune (Manchester United/Eng), 8-Thabo Mngomeni (Orlando Pirates), 10-Bennett Mnguni (Lokomotiv Moscow/Rus), 12-Teboho Mokoena (St Gallen/Swi), 9-McDonald Mukansi (Lokomotiv Sofia/Bul), 21-Steven Pienaar (Ajax/Ned), 11-Jabu Pule (Kaizer Chiefs) , 6-MacBeth Sibaya (Cosmos), 15-Sibusiso Zuma (FC Copenhagen/Den)

Forwards
17-Benni McCarthy (FC Porto/Por), 23-George Koumantarakis (Basel/Swi), 14-Siyabonga Nomvete (Udinese/Ita)