Source: Team_Talk
South Africa snub for McCarthy
The Blackburn Rovers striker is the biggest casualty in the 30-man list, with the other high-profile absentee being Richard Henyekane, the current top scorer in the domestic league, who was widely tipped for a call-up.[LNB]Brazilian boss Santana today announced the initial list for the eight-team tournament and will trim the squad to 23 over the coming four weeks.[LNB]McCarthy recently missed friendlies against Norway and Portugal, blaming a niggling hamstring injury for his absence, but then turned out in a league game for his club just days later.[LNB]It was not the first time he had transgressed against the South African Football Association (SAFA) and has now paid the price.[LNB]"In football there are no guarantees," said Santana. "Today you may be in and then tomorrow it could be someone else's turn."[LNB]However, the coach urged those who missed out not to give up hope of playing for the country when they host next year's World Cup finals.[LNB]He continued: "I want to assure players who will be dropped for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup that it does not mean they will not be considered for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.[LNB]"This applies to players who are also not in the provisional list of 30. My advice is that all players who will not take part in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup must continue to work hard at their game for future consideration.[LNB]"When selecting the final 23 players, we shall try and have two players at each position, but the final team will have three goalkeepers. I don't know who will be in the final 23, because this will be based on the assessment done before 4 June 2009."[LNB]Santana refused to discuss McCarthy's omission at Thursday's announcement, saying that he would "only discuss players in the squad".[LNB]Bafana Bafana have been pooled in Group A for the two-week tournament alongside Spain, New Zealand and Iraq, who they face in the opening match on June 14.[LNB]Group B is made up of Brazil, Italy, Egypt and the United States.[LNB][LNB][LNB]
