iafrica.com's Khaya Ndubane wonders if Bafana Bafana stars Teko Modise and Siphiwe Tshabalala's loss of form might not come back to haunt the national team during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Teko Modise's lack of form has resulted in him being relegated to the bench at Orlando Pirates, while Siphiwe Tshabalala is either being substituted or coming off the bench at Kaizer Chiefs. Fatigue and lack of development have been mentioned as the main reasons behind the duo's lack of form, but be that as it may, Bafana need these two players firing on all cylinders if they are to do well in the 2010 World Cup.

Modise and Tshabalala are undoubtedly two of the most influential players in the Bafana Bafana set-up and history will prove that Bafana tend to struggle if the duo are not in the starting line-up.

Modise, as a free-kick specialist for Bafana, plays a crucial role especially when it comes to the set pieces, while Tshabalala brings in good crosses for the strikers and their current lack of form might be the cause for Bafana Bafana?s goal-scoring drought.

Like BidVest Wits coach Roger de Sa said last week, Bafana's goal-scoring drought might have been cause by lack of creativity in the midfield and with Modise and Tshabalala struggling no one else has put up their hand to replace them.

The likes of Elrio van Heerden, Daine Klate and Franklin Cale have all been given a chance to show what they can do, but the trio have failed to convince the Bafana technical team that they are the answer.

Reneilwe Letsholonyane has shown that he can take over from Modise in the creativity department, but with Letsholonyane having played just two matches for Bafana, it's difficult to say if he is the answer either.

The left wing position still remains the biggest problem for Carlos Alberto Parreira?s team. As I mentioned before no one has shown that he can challenge Tshabalala so for now we can only hope that his form returns in time for the World Cup.

And with the pressure starting to mount on Premier Soccer League (PSL) coaches ahead of the season finale, Modise and Tshabalala's cameo roles in their respective teams might continue until the end of the league , which is just two and half months away.

Maybe the one-month camp that is organised for January might help Modise and Tshabalala, but it's hard to imagine that at this stage as players need to play competitive matches in order to regain form.

But like I said for now, Parreira and the rest of Bafana Bafana fans can only hope for the best!