The loss of in-form striker Lebo Mothiba has been a blow for Bafana Bafana ahead of their African Nations Cup qualifier against Libya on Saturday as Stuart Baxter juggles a squad with not many international goals.
In fact‚ the 22 players that make up his selection have only 24 goals among them at international level‚ with only nine having found the back of the net before.
And of those‚ only four have scored in Nations Cup or World Cup qualifiers.
SowetanLIVE looks at the nine who have netted before in the current squad:
MOTJEKA MADISHA
Caps/goals: 4/1
The stylish Mamelodi Sundowns centre-back scored with a header in the final of the Plate competition at the COSAFA Cup this year/ He has netted for Sundowns too and even took a penalty in a 4-0 win over Baroka FC last season.
SIYANDA XULU
Caps/goals: 7/1
Xulu grabbed his only international goal to date when he scored from a set-piece in the 4-1 victory over Namibia in the Plate semifinals at the COSAFA Cup this year. He managed three goals for Maritzburg United last season too.
AUBREY MODIBA
Caps/goals: 8/2
Both of Modiba’s goals came in the COSAFA Cup this year as he netted a penalty against Namibia and then followed that up with a shot at the end of a sweeping move in the victory over Botswana.
BRADLEY GROBLER
Caps/goals: 8/2
Grobler netted on debut for Bafana as they lost away in a friendly in Zimbabwe in 2011‚ with his only other goal coming in a 1-1 draw with Mozambique in 2016.
He had come on at halftime for Dutch-born Lars Veldwijk‚ who was supposed to be the new scoring hope for Bafana but has not been seen since.
KEAGAN DOLLY
Caps/goals: 13/2
Both of Dolly’s international goals came in the same game and they were each stunners from range.
He netted twice in the 4-0 away victory over Gambia in the Nations Cup qualifiers in 2016. He might feel he should have more goals by now.
THULANI HLATSHWAYO
Caps/goals: 34/3
The BidVest Wits centre-back is always a threat in the opposition box at set-pieces and broke his international duck with a pre-Nations Cup finals goal in a friendly against Mali in 2015.
He followed that up with another strike against Swaziland two months later‚ with his third goal a disputed one. He converted the penalty awarded by banned referee Joseph Lamptey in the World Cup qualifier against Senegal that was later found to have been fixed by the match official.
DEAN FURMAN
Caps/goals: 46/3
Furman doesn’t score many‚ but when he does they tend to be important goals. His first came in his 15th appearance for Bafana when he got the ball rolling in a 4-1 victory over Botswana in a World Cup qualifier five years ago. He also netted in that 3-0 win over Mali in 2015‚ before getting a goal away in Burkina Faso in a World Cup qualifier in 2016 that ended 1-1.
PERCY TAU
Caps/goals: 12/5
The player with the best scoring ratio for the national team in the squad‚ Tau may have to carry the hopes of the country in this regard and looks to be in decent form at the start of his new adventure in Belgium.
He scored his first Bafana goal in his third cap against Guinea-Bissau in 2017‚ before adding the second in the country’s famous 2-0 win away in Nigeria that kicked off their Nations Cup qualification campaign.
He got his third against Burkina Faso in a World Cup qualifier last year‚ before netting in Dakar against Senegal in the same qualifiers‚ and then again against Zambia in the Four Nations Tournament in March.
He has three goals in his last four international appearances.
SIBUSISO VILAKAZI
Caps/goals: 30/5
Vilakazi has a knack of getting into good scoring positions so he may fell a tad disappointed about is international tally to date‚ but he is a real danger to the opposition in the box.
He opened his account by netting twice against Sudan after coming on as a substitute in a Nations Cup qualifier in 2014‚ the first match in charge for then coach Shakes Mashaba.
He also netted twice in pre-Nations Cup friendlies in 2015 against Cameroon and Mali respectively‚ and his last goal came in the 3-1 victory over Burkina Faso in a World Cup qualifier in 2017.
Where will Bafana Bafana's goals come from?
Image: Anesh Debiky/Gallo Images
The loss of in-form striker Lebo Mothiba has been a blow for Bafana Bafana ahead of their African Nations Cup qualifier against Libya on Saturday as Stuart Baxter juggles a squad with not many international goals.
In fact‚ the 22 players that make up his selection have only 24 goals among them at international level‚ with only nine having found the back of the net before.
And of those‚ only four have scored in Nations Cup or World Cup qualifiers.
SowetanLIVE looks at the nine who have netted before in the current squad:
MOTJEKA MADISHA
Caps/goals: 4/1
The stylish Mamelodi Sundowns centre-back scored with a header in the final of the Plate competition at the COSAFA Cup this year/ He has netted for Sundowns too and even took a penalty in a 4-0 win over Baroka FC last season.
SIYANDA XULU
Caps/goals: 7/1
Xulu grabbed his only international goal to date when he scored from a set-piece in the 4-1 victory over Namibia in the Plate semifinals at the COSAFA Cup this year. He managed three goals for Maritzburg United last season too.
AUBREY MODIBA
Caps/goals: 8/2
Both of Modiba’s goals came in the COSAFA Cup this year as he netted a penalty against Namibia and then followed that up with a shot at the end of a sweeping move in the victory over Botswana.
BRADLEY GROBLER
Caps/goals: 8/2
Grobler netted on debut for Bafana as they lost away in a friendly in Zimbabwe in 2011‚ with his only other goal coming in a 1-1 draw with Mozambique in 2016.
He had come on at halftime for Dutch-born Lars Veldwijk‚ who was supposed to be the new scoring hope for Bafana but has not been seen since.
KEAGAN DOLLY
Caps/goals: 13/2
Both of Dolly’s international goals came in the same game and they were each stunners from range.
He netted twice in the 4-0 away victory over Gambia in the Nations Cup qualifiers in 2016. He might feel he should have more goals by now.
THULANI HLATSHWAYO
Caps/goals: 34/3
The BidVest Wits centre-back is always a threat in the opposition box at set-pieces and broke his international duck with a pre-Nations Cup finals goal in a friendly against Mali in 2015.
He followed that up with another strike against Swaziland two months later‚ with his third goal a disputed one. He converted the penalty awarded by banned referee Joseph Lamptey in the World Cup qualifier against Senegal that was later found to have been fixed by the match official.
DEAN FURMAN
Caps/goals: 46/3
Furman doesn’t score many‚ but when he does they tend to be important goals. His first came in his 15th appearance for Bafana when he got the ball rolling in a 4-1 victory over Botswana in a World Cup qualifier five years ago. He also netted in that 3-0 win over Mali in 2015‚ before getting a goal away in Burkina Faso in a World Cup qualifier in 2016 that ended 1-1.
PERCY TAU
Caps/goals: 12/5
The player with the best scoring ratio for the national team in the squad‚ Tau may have to carry the hopes of the country in this regard and looks to be in decent form at the start of his new adventure in Belgium.
He scored his first Bafana goal in his third cap against Guinea-Bissau in 2017‚ before adding the second in the country’s famous 2-0 win away in Nigeria that kicked off their Nations Cup qualification campaign.
He got his third against Burkina Faso in a World Cup qualifier last year‚ before netting in Dakar against Senegal in the same qualifiers‚ and then again against Zambia in the Four Nations Tournament in March.
He has three goals in his last four international appearances.
SIBUSISO VILAKAZI
Caps/goals: 30/5
Vilakazi has a knack of getting into good scoring positions so he may fell a tad disappointed about is international tally to date‚ but he is a real danger to the opposition in the box.
He opened his account by netting twice against Sudan after coming on as a substitute in a Nations Cup qualifier in 2014‚ the first match in charge for then coach Shakes Mashaba.
He also netted twice in pre-Nations Cup friendlies in 2015 against Cameroon and Mali respectively‚ and his last goal came in the 3-1 victory over Burkina Faso in a World Cup qualifier in 2017.
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