Bafana Bafana striker Benni McCarthy blames poor team selection for the national team's demise in world soccer.

Bafana Bafana striker Benni McCarthy blames poor team selection for the national team's demise in world soccer.

"Massive shame! Big embarrassment for the players and the country. But things never seem to change," he told a weekly soccer publication.

South Africa are 13th in Africa and 67th in the latest Fifa world ranking.

"The past few years now we haven't been getting the results that we wanted. We haven't played the best football and we have not selected the best players that this country has."

McCarthy is of the opinion that certain clubs and players get preferential treatment and that the best are not always selected.

"It's more about who you play for or who you are rather than your form at the time the national team is selected," he said. "I think if you play for certain teams then you get selected even though you're not good enough or not on form."

The striker questions why Matthew Booth is not playing for Bafana Bafana. - Sapa