EVERYTHING is at stake for Ethiopia and South Africa in their elimination match at Addis Ababa Stadium today, which will decide who continues on the path to the World Cup, and who falls.
Ethiopia have never qualified for the World Cup, and with a two-point lead in Group A, this is their best chance yet.
For Bafana, with eight points, from wins against Central African Republic home and away, 2-0 and 3-0 respectively, fantasies of walking the fields in Brazil next year have ignited a dream that seemed a distant reality when SA started with dismal draws against Ethiopia and Botswana.
Bafana's last game in September is at home against Botswana. Ethiopia meet CAR in their capital Bangui.
Ethiopia's Salahdin Said, the top scorer in the group with four goals, has had a significant impact on SA's recent footballing history. His 28th minute strike in Rustenburg in late 2012 set up a 1-1 draw that saw Bafana start the qualifiers on the back foot. It was a result that also cost coach Pitso Mosimane his job.
Ethiopia's coach Sewnet Bishaw, who has steered his team to four victories in the qualifiers since then, will have seen enough of SA at the Africa Cup of Nations in January to know that Gordon Igesund' s stamp has created a far more direct Bafana than the one that laboured to slow build-ups in Rustenburg.
Igesund's 4-3-3 formation has shown signs of coming of age.
Bafana have scored 12 goals in their last six games and conceded three. The dynamic ball-winning duo of Dean Furman and Reneilwe Letsholonyane provide a stable base. This can be turned into a quick attack through creativity by Letsholonyane, May Mahlangu and Siphiwe Tshabalala, behind runners Bernard Parker, Tokelo Rantie or Thuso Phala.
"I think it works well," Mahlangu said this week about the system. "We have Furman who distributes very well. We have 'Yeye' [Letsholonyane] who can make the team play. And me, who can take the ball and attack defenders. So we've found the balance in midfield.
"We also have players who can come from wings and bring crosses, and quick players up front. So together, I think we can keep the ball, attack, and defend well because we have that balance in midfield."
This was all very well against CAR in Yaounde. In Addis Ababa today, on a bumpy pitch, with lungs bursting at 2400 metres above sea level, such tactics will be tested to the limit.
Do or die for Bafana
EVERYTHING is at stake for Ethiopia and South Africa in their elimination match at Addis Ababa Stadium today, which will decide who continues on the path to the World Cup, and who falls.
Ethiopia have never qualified for the World Cup, and with a two-point lead in Group A, this is their best chance yet.
For Bafana, with eight points, from wins against Central African Republic home and away, 2-0 and 3-0 respectively, fantasies of walking the fields in Brazil next year have ignited a dream that seemed a distant reality when SA started with dismal draws against Ethiopia and Botswana.
Bafana's last game in September is at home against Botswana. Ethiopia meet CAR in their capital Bangui.
Ethiopia's Salahdin Said, the top scorer in the group with four goals, has had a significant impact on SA's recent footballing history. His 28th minute strike in Rustenburg in late 2012 set up a 1-1 draw that saw Bafana start the qualifiers on the back foot. It was a result that also cost coach Pitso Mosimane his job.
Ethiopia's coach Sewnet Bishaw, who has steered his team to four victories in the qualifiers since then, will have seen enough of SA at the Africa Cup of Nations in January to know that Gordon Igesund' s stamp has created a far more direct Bafana than the one that laboured to slow build-ups in Rustenburg.
Igesund's 4-3-3 formation has shown signs of coming of age.
Bafana have scored 12 goals in their last six games and conceded three. The dynamic ball-winning duo of Dean Furman and Reneilwe Letsholonyane provide a stable base. This can be turned into a quick attack through creativity by Letsholonyane, May Mahlangu and Siphiwe Tshabalala, behind runners Bernard Parker, Tokelo Rantie or Thuso Phala.
"I think it works well," Mahlangu said this week about the system. "We have Furman who distributes very well. We have 'Yeye' [Letsholonyane] who can make the team play. And me, who can take the ball and attack defenders. So we've found the balance in midfield.
"We also have players who can come from wings and bring crosses, and quick players up front. So together, I think we can keep the ball, attack, and defend well because we have that balance in midfield."
This was all very well against CAR in Yaounde. In Addis Ababa today, on a bumpy pitch, with lungs bursting at 2400 metres above sea level, such tactics will be tested to the limit.
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