Bafana Bafana coach Joel Santana has made five changes to his squad to play Guinea in a friendly international at Atteridgeville's Super Stadium on Tuesday at 6pm from the squad that lost 1-0 against Nigerian in a heart-breaking 2010 African Nations Cup qualifier at the ERPU Stadium in Port Elizabeth.

He has brought in two Ajax Cape Town defenders, Brett Evans and Allie Nazeer, SuperSport United's flying right wing Daine Klate — plus two strikers in Thanda Royal Zulu's Bernard Parker and Bloemfontein Celtic's Petrus Mahlatsi.

Klate has been in brilliant form for the Premier Soccer League champions in the MTN8 competition, while Parker scored both his side's goals in their shock 2-1 win in their opening Absa Premiership clash at Loftus last Saturday night.

He has rested his captain on the day against Nigeria, Benni McCarthy of Blackburn Rovers, German-based left back Bradley Carnell and Man of the Match Siphiwe Tshabalala of Chiefs for the Guinea clash.

"I want to have a look at other players on the fringe of national selection in a competitive match and this game is that ideal opportunity," explained Santana.

The Brazilian coach said he was bitterly disappointed after Bafana had played Nigeria off the park and ended up losing.

But he added: "I was proud of the players. I could not ask more of them.

"We played well against Nigeria and we are on the right track. I want to keep the momentum going against Guinea as we get closer to playing in the Confederations Cup next June and the ultimate competition the 2010 World Cup."

The Bafana Bafana squad:

Goalkeepers: Itumeleng (Kaizer Chiefs), Moeneeb Josephs (Orlando Pirates).

Defenders: Matthew Booth (Krylya Sovetov, Russia), Brett Evans, Allie Nazeer (both Ajax Cape Town), Siboniso Gaxa, Mbulelo Mabizela (both Mamelodi Sundowns), Bongani Khumalo (SuperSport United), Bevan Fransman (Maccabi Netanya, Israel), Innocent Mdledle (Orlando Pirates).

Midfielders: Lance Davids (Djurgardens, Sweden), Kagiso Dikgacoi (Golden Arrows), Thulasizwe Mbuyane, Teko Modise. Lebogang Mothibantwa (all Pirates), Surprise Moriri (Sundowns) Siyabonga Nkosi (Arminia Bielefeld, Germany), Daine Klate (SuperSport United), Lefa Tsutsulupa (Moroka Swallows).

Strikers: Petrus Mahlatsi (Bloemfontein Celtic), Sibusiso Zuma (Sundowns) and Bernard Parker (Thanda Royal Zulu).

Meanwhile, it was not the bitterly disappointing 1-0 defeat against Nigeria that hammered the final nails into Bafana Bafana's coffin in respect to qualifying for the 2010 African Nations Cup Finals.

An hour later, the world's 145th-ranked Sierra Leone beat Equatorial Guinea 2-1, which assured their opponents finishing bottom of the Group 4 qualifying segment rather than Sierra Leone and in the process obliterated the glimmer of hope that remained of South Africa participating in the 2010 tournament in Angola.

An involved system introduced by FIFA whereby the results of games involving teams finishing bottom in the qualifying groups are not taken into account ultimately sealed Bafana's fate

with the Fat Lady chortling the unpalatable message that war-ravaged Sierra Leone, one of the minnows of world soccer and a country with a population of little more than six-million, have effectively outmanoeuvred SA from the Nations Cup.

Sapa

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