Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos will name his squad on Thursday for international friendlies against Sierra Leone and Botswana later this month.
His choice of forwards will be a key issue, with that having been a problem area for the side for some time.
It got us thinking about who has the best goals per game ratio in a national team jersey.
Clearly Benni McCarthy achieved more than any other in terms of trophy wins in Europe, including the Uefa Champions League, and for many is the greatest forward the country has ever produced.
But in terms of goals per game for the country, he is quite a way behind the record-holder in that regard.
SuperSport.com looks at the numbers behind the strikers who have scored 10 or more goals for Bafana Bafana.
SIBUSISO ZUMA
Caps/goals: 67/13
Goals per game: 0.19
To be fair to Zuma, he was often played as a winger rather than an out-and-out forward and so that will have hindered his scoring opportunities. But a player of his quality should probably still have scored more than 13 goals.
SIYABONGA NOMVETHE
Caps/goals: 82/16
Goals per game: 0.20
Like Zuma, Nomvethe was also at times used as a winger with his raw pace, though as time went on he moved more centrally. He managed one goal every five caps for his country.
TOKELO RANTIE
Caps/goals: 42/12
Goals per game: 0.29
A wasted talent for the national team Rantie showed much promised and was a real x-factor player who could have led the Bafana line for a decade is off-field problems had not hindered him. His numbers do not look all that great but were improving when he suddenly disappeared from the scene.
PHIL MASINGA
Caps/goals: 58/18
Goals per game: 0.31
One of the original national team stars who was leading the line on Bafana’s readmission to international football, he often bore the brunt of frustration from fans but played his part in the national team success in winning the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations and qualifying for the 1998 Fifa World Cup.
BERNARD PARKER
Caps/goals: 72/23
Goals per game: 0.32
Parker was at one stage the lead forward for the national team in the years before the 2010 Fifa World Cup and scored seven goals in 10 games between 2008 and 2009. He later had another purple patch with 11 goals in 14 games between 2013 and 2014, but they were too few and far between in other periods of his eight-year national team career. Those two spells accounted for 18 goals in 24 games, but he managed just another five in 48 matches outside of them.
PERCY TAU
Caps/goals: 35/13
Goals per game: 0.37
Tau is the only player on the list who is still active with the national team and so his goals ratio could improve or decline in the coming years. He has seen a drop in recent times having gone six games – and 18 months – without an international goal. But there is no doubt he has made an excellent impact so far and will likely to continue to be the main source of goals once back firing for the national team.
SHAUN BARTLETT
Caps/goals: 74/29
Goals per game: 0.39
The second highest goal-scorer in national team history, Bartlett was a terrific player who achieved much in the club game as well, playing in the English Premier League and locally for Kaizer Chiefs. He was also a key part of Bafana’s most successful years and a 1996 Nations Cup winners who also scored twice at the 1998 World Cup.
BENEDICT MCCARTHY
Caps/goals: 80/31
Goals per game: 0.39
McCarthy is the leading scorer for the national team with 31 goals and the most naturally gifted finisher the team has seen. He played in a period when Bafana Bafana were meeting some of the best teams in the world and appeared at two World Cups. He rarely got the chance to boost his goals tally against Eswatini, Lesotho and Mauritius. He might have scored more as well, but for some periods when he was unavailable for the national team. He certainly should have played well over 100 games.
KATLEGO MPHELA
Caps/goals: 52/23
Goals per game: 0.44
Mphela probably does not get fair dues for just what a quality forward he was and is the Bafana striker with the best goals to game ratio. He also netted against some of the leading teams in the world, including a brace against Spain and a goal at the 2010 World Cup against France. He scored 14 of his goals in a 19-game period just before and after that World Cup, and it must be noted that some of them came in games that were later under heavy suspicion of match-fixing from officials and opponents. But t