Benni McCarthy hasn’t ruled himself out of the race for the vacant South Africa national football team head coaching position.
South Africa’s all-time leading goal scorer has been heavily linked with the Bafana Bafana job.
The South Africa Football Association (SAFA) sacked Molefi Ntseki after the football team failed to qualify for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) that will be held next year in Cameroon.
McCarthy is off to a terrific start as head coach of AmaZulu. The side has moved up to third in the South African Premier Division and are on an 11-game unbeaten run. The former Premier League striker has revealed his desire to coach his country at the highest level.
“As a former player and a manager now you would want to be in charge of the best teams in the country where you are managing,” McCarthy said.
“If that comes with the responsibility of taking your national team that’s been struggling – it is something that I wouldn’t rule out.
“As much as I love the day-to-day antics about managing players working on a daily basis and improving them my national team is struggling so if there is a chance for me to take the reins and take the South African job I would think about it.
“I would really think hard about it because nothing would make me prouder than to manage my country and qualify us to a World Cup tournament.
“That would be one of the highlights of your managing career, even though it is such a short space of time, but it is something that I am thinking about and would consider if the opportunity comes,” the former Cape Town City boss added.
Bafana Bafana have been drawn in a tough Group G for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers alongside Ghana, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe who have all qualified for next year’s AFCON tournament. The qualification process for the Qatar World Cup will commence in June.
South Africa will be hoping to qualify for the World Cup as they have failed to do so in the previous 2 attempts after hosting the tournament in 2010.
