South Africa took the next major step in its aim to clinch glory at the next African Cup of Nations with the release of the squad for Ghana 2008. The squad list contained a bold statement of intent from South Africa's Brazilian coach Alberto Parreria as he dropped some of the big names from his squad.
Gone were Benni McCarthy of Blackburn Rovers, South Africa's all time leading scorer, Delron Buckley of FC Basel and Macbeth Sibaya of the Russian team Rubin Kazan.
Mccarthy's omission was the biggest surprise as in the last few years he has found renewed form with Blackburn Rovers notching 19 goals last season to finish as the English Premier League's second highest scorer. However McCarthy's on-off relationship with the national team may have finally caught up with him.
Parreira may also be looking at Ghana 2008 as the first real step in the build up to the World Cup in 2010 in South Africa, hence the inclusion of six under-23 players in the squad. He may believe he needs to focus on players that will be at their peak come 2010 and the likes of McCarthy, Buckley and Sibaya are unlikely to meet that criteria.
Equally interesting is the focus on a greater number of home-based players, which is a change from the Bafana Bafana squad of recent years and may give Parreira greater flexibility in preparing the squad for both the ANC and in the long term the 2010 World Cup.
The full squad :
Goalkeepers
Rowen Fernandez (Arminia Bielefeld, Germany)
Moeneeb Josephs (BidVest Wits, South Africa)
Itumaleng Khune (Kaizer Chiefs, South Africa)
Defenders
Vuyo Mere (Mamelodi Sundowns, South Africa)
Bryce Moon (Ajax Cape Town, South Africa)
Benson Mhlongo (Mamelodi Sundowns, South Africa)
Bevan Fransman (Moroka Swallows, South Africa)
Tsepo Masilela (Maccabi Haifa, Israel)
Brett Evans (Ajax Cape Town, South Africa)
Nasief Morris (Panathinaikos, Greece)
Aaron Mokoena (Blackburn Rovers, England)
Midfielders
Kagiso Dikgacoi (Golden Arrows, South Africa)
Elrio van Heerden (Club Brugge, Belgium)
Lance Davids (Djurgardens, Sweden)
Surprise Moriri (Mamelodi Sundowns, South Africa)
Siphiwe Tshabalala (Kaizer Chiefs, South Africa)
Steven Pienaar (Everton, England)
Teko Modise (Orlando Pirates, South Africa)
Strikers
Excellent Walaza (Orlando Pirates, South Africa)
Thembinkosi Fanteni (Ajax Cape Town, South Africa)
Lerato Chabangu (Mamelodi Sundowns, South Africa)
Katlego Mphela (Supersport United, South Africa)
Sibusiso Zuma (Arminia Bielefeld, Germany)