McCarthy dropped as South Africa look to 2010 World Cup
JOHANNESBURG: South Africa's top striker Benni McCarthy
(pic) was left out of the country's 23-man squad on Friday for January's
African Nations Cup Finals in Ghana.
Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira named an experimental squad in the first
indication that the 30-year-old Blackburn Rovers forward might not be
part of plans for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
Also left out were German-based Delron Buckley and Bradley Carnell, midfielder
MacBeth Sibaya and the Danish-based winger Siyabonga Nomvete.
Instead the Brazilian coach picked a mainly youthful outfit keeping to
his promise to use the three-week event from Jan 20-Feb 10 to build a
competitive team for the World Cup Finals.
The 23-man squad include two uncapped players in Orlando Pirates striker
Excellent Walaza and Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune, both 20.
But Parreira did include the 33-year-old striker Sibusiso Zuma, who captained
South Africa at the last Nations Cup Finals in Egypt in 2006.
South Africa, the first of the 16 Finalists to name their squad, have
been drawn with Angola, Senegal and Tunisia in Group D at the Nations
Cup Finals.
