Kasperczak unimpressed

S. Africa seeks maturity for World Cup; Ghana content

Queiroz said the Nations Cup finals had provided valuable lessons for the team, who will face Paraguay, Slovenia and Spain at the World Cup finals in South Korea.

But Queiroz's own future may be in doubt as speculation increased again in the South African media on Monday that the Portuguese trainer might be fired after their quarterfinal loss to Mali.

A South African side lacking in adventure lost 2-0 to Mali, which left Bafana Bafana to travel home with just one win in four matches.

Change foolhardy

Queiroz has dismissed the speculation and South African Football Association officials in Mali have also insisted any change would be foolhardy with the World Cup just months away.

"There is a lot to improve, of course," said Queiroz. "In the World Cup we need at least two or three more mature players in our squad, players who can cope with the pressure and who don't shirk in the face of adversity.

"We have struggled here to learn to rebound from our mistakes and at the World Cup finals we need players who don't give up when things are going against them."

This could open the door for a return for veterans Mark Fish, Phil Masinga, Helman Mkhalele and John Moshoeu, who were not considered for the Nations Cup squad.

Veterans return

Fish, a defender with English premier league club Charlton Athletic, has not played for South Africa since Queiroz's first match in charge against France 18 months ago.

At first Fish said he wished to concentrate on his club career in London but later made himself available.

Masinga and Mkhalele, who played in the last World Cup finals, were left out because of a lack of match practice.

The duo only recently found clubs in the United Arab Emirates and Turkey respectively, following protracted spells on the sidelines.

Turkish-based midfielder Moshoeu, 36, last played for South Africa in November and is still considered a candidate for the World Cup squad.

All four players have more than 50 caps each for their country.

"The foundation of the team is here in Mali -- at least 80 percent of my side here will go to the World Cup," said Queiroz.

"This has been the ideal situation to lay down the foundation and we have to keep the momentum going. But the door is always open for other players."

South Africa have yet to announce plans for their World Cup build-up and Queiroz admitted there were no fixtures finalized for the coming months.

"We hope to have it all arranged in the next few weeks," Queiroz told Reuters.

African contenders fail to impress Kasperczak

WARSAW -- Of the five African teams at this summer's World Cup only Nigeria and Cameroon have any real chance of success, according to Mali's Polish coach Henryk Kasperczak.

"Most of the African teams are stewing in their own juice," said Kasperczak in an interview published on the Polish soccer federation's Web site on Monday.

"Only two African teams have chances of success -- Nigeria and Cameroon -- they have the most experience in international tournaments," added Kasperczak, who guided hosts Mali into the semifinals of the African Nations Cup on Sunday.

In their quarterfinal Mali won 2-0 against South Africa, who together with Tunisia and Senegal complete the African quintet at the World Cup in South Korea and Japan.

Kasperczak said African teams lacked experience playing top opposition from Europe or Latin America.

The experienced Pole won 73 caps for his country and played in the Poland side which reached the semifinals of the 1974 World Cup. He was in charge of Tunisia at the 1998 World Cup and has also coached, among others, the Ivory Coast and Morocco.

Ghana's Black Stars see bright future

BAMAKO -- Four-times champions Ghana, who brought an experimental, youthful team to the African Nations Cup, said on Monday they were delighted with their run which ended with Sunday's late 1-0 defeat by old rivals Nigeria in the quarterfinals.

"I'm really satisfied with their performance," said veteran coach Fred Osam-Duodu. "I am proud of my team, it is a youthful side and I say they have done well."

The Black Stars have been in the doldrums for several years following the retirements of players such as Abedi Pele and Tony Yeboah.

Their last Nations Cup title was in 1982, when Osam-Duodu was also in charge, and they have not reached the semi-finals since 1996.

Meanwhile, they have still to break their duck in the World Cup and qualify for the finals.

This year's squad contained half a dozen players who were in the side which reached the final of last year's World Youth Championship in Argentina before losing 3-0 to the hosts.

Osam-Duodu, who has twice taken over as caretaker in the last two years, could not say whether he would continue as coach.

"We are going to maintain this team -- there will be changes, new faces and old faces and perhaps I will not be the man to handle this throughout," he said.

"I only took over because there was no coach," he added.

Ghana Football Association president Ben Koufie said: "This is definitely our team, we used 2002 as our platform. A lot of these boys have proved that they are ready, that they are good material.

"If we follow a program, if we do the right thing with the aim of building for tomorrow we will definitely succeed.

"We need continuity, we have spotted the boys. They are good products, we have to make sure they are well nurtured."

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