Bafana face World Cup hosts

South Africa will welcome 2014 FIFA World Cup hosts Brazil to the FNB Stadium for an international friendly today, Wednesday March 5.

The kick-off is at 19:00.

It is the second successive friendly at ‘Soccer City’ against a high-profile team, with Bafana Bafana having beaten reigning World Cup champions Spain 1-0 at the Johannesburg venue in November last year.

In between, South Africa’s locally-based squad was eliminated in the first round from the 2014 African Nations Championship on home soil, but the call-ups of overseas-based players, such as Bongani Khumalo, Anele Ngcongca, Kagisho Dikgacoi, Dean Fuman, Andile Jali, Thulani Serero and Tokelo Rantie, will significantly strengthen the team.

“It is not every day that one gets to play against five-time world champions. This is a great opportunity for us to continue from where we left off against Spain last year,” said coach Gordon Igesund upon naming his 23-man squad.

“We played Brazil in Sao Paolo and narrowly lost 1-0. They are the hosts of the 2014 World Cup, so they will definitely be taking this match seriously, as you can see from the squad they have selected.

“Ï also have a lot of confidence in the squad I have selected and I believe we will be very competitive on the night. This should be a very good challenge for the players.”

South Africa and Brazil have clashed in four official matches heading back as far as their first meeting at the old ‘Soccer City’ in April 1996, when the South Americans came from two goals down (scored by Phil Masinga and Doctor Khumalo) to win 3-2.

That victory set the tone for the rivalry, as Brazil have won all four matches in which they have tackled Bafana, including a 1-0 victory in the semi-finals of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup and a win by the same score line when the teams met in Sao Paulo in August 2012, Igesund’s first match in charge of the national team.