Benni McCarthy is South Africa’s all-time leading goalscorer with 31 international goals. Foster’s tally is still 10 goals for his country. The record-holder McCarthy is counting on Foster to be his successor.
The Kenya head coach shared his thoughts after the 2-2 draw with Bafana in their CAF 2027 AFCON qualifier at the Orlando Amstel Arena in Soweto on Friday night.
BENNI MCCARTHY IDENTIFIES FOSTER’S BIGGEST CHALLENGE
According to McCarthy, Foster has a bit of a challenge on his hands. McCarthy says modern football’s tactical trends are making scoring a difficult task for strikers.
The Kenya coach pointed to the widespread use of inverted wingers, arguing that strikers are no longer receiving the same quality of crosses that benefited forwards during his playing days.
“Well, listen, it’s not just in South Africa, it’s a worldwide thing because when you look at modern-day football, now most teams play inverted wingers,” McCarthy told journalists.
“So you don’t get crosses anymore, putting it near post for strikers to make that near-post run. It’s difficult when you play a left-footer on the right, or a right-footer playing on the left.
“So where are the crosses going to come from? The strikers keep making movements. Back in my days, we had Delron Buckley, for example; he was a left-footer.
“Myself, Shaun Bartlett, and Sibusiso Zuma, we had to make sure, you know, when the ball is on the left foot, one goes near post, one goes second post. Wherever that ball lands, one of us is going to get it.”
BACKING FOR LYLE FOSTER
McCarthy believes Foster has the necessary quality, personality and presence to eventually take his name out of the South African record books.
However, he stressed that Bafana must build their attacking play around the strengths of their available strikers, including Mamelodi Sundowns forward Iqraam Rayners.
“But now it’s different, you make a run and then the wingers cut back onto their strong foot to bring it back, you know? So it’s difficult to breed strikers when you play inverted on the wings.
“But listen, Lyle [Foster], he’s finding his footing again. He’s top-notch. I said this a long time ago. I think if there’s a player that’s got the characteristics, that’s got the quality, that’s going to take my name off the record books there, it could be Lyle because he’s got the ability, and he’s got the aura.
“But he needs the service, he needs the team to play for him, you know? And Iqraam Rayners as well. You’ve got to play to the strengths of the strikers that you have; when you don’t play to the strength of your strikers, it becomes difficult for them to score goals,” he concluded.
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