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New SA breed to test Paraguay

Teboho Mokoena during a Bafana training session as SA prepare to face Paraguay in Durban tonight. / Gallo Images Lefty Shivambu/
Teboho Mokoena during a Bafana training session as SA prepare to face Paraguay in Durban tonight. / Gallo Images Lefty Shivambu/

Bafana Bafana will be looking to avoid a repeat of what happened the last time they faced South American opposition at home, when they take on Paraguay tonight.

South Africa will take on La Albirroja (White and Red) in the Nelson Mandela Challenge at the Moses Mabhida Stadium (7pm).

It's been four years since Bafana last hosted opposition from South America, suffering a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Brazil before the 2014 Fifa World Cup.

Coach Stuart Baxter is expected to reshuffle his lineup after their bruising 1-1 draw with Nigeria in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at the weekend.

Bafana midfielder Hlompho Kekana conceded that the friendly will give the coach a chance to experiment with a new combination in the centre of the pitch.

"We have got younger players who can do the job for the country, the likes of Teboho Mokoena and Fortune Makaringe," Kekana said.

The 33-year-old has revealed that he may be rested due to some discomfort in his ankle.

Bafana still need to convince the public of their capabilities with them stuttering in the 2019 Afcon qualifiers.

They are second in Group E with nine points and still need a point to qualify for the tournament in Cameroon next year.

The match against Nigeria at FNB Stadium was their penultimate group match.

"There is a little bit of disappointment because, playing at home, we felt we could have won it. But we can't complain with the point we got [and need to] make sure we win against Libya," Kekana said.

"What let us down was to let our foot off the pedal when we had Nigeria in our pockets. I feel we were a bit anxious playing the powerhouse of African football and we rushed things at times. To be honest, we must give credit to the players for trying their best in difficult conditions."

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