Factbox: South Africa

Colours: Yellow shirts and socks, green shorts

Nickname: Bafana Bafana (the young lads)

Previous World Cup appearances: 2: 1998, 2002

Best World Cup performance: Failed to get past the first round in previous appearances

Coach: Carlos Alberto Parreira

Most capped player: Aaron Mokoena 97

Top goalscorer: Benni McCarthy 31

Squad:

1-Moeneeb Josephs (Orlando Pirates). Goalkeeper. Born May 19 1980 Caps: 18. Goals: 0.
A strong club season and injuries to other goalkeeping contenders make him now the second choice for the country. A little on the short side at 1.84 metres but plays with great agility and loads of passion.

16-Itumeleng Khune (Kaizer Chiefs). Goalkeeper. Born June 20 1987. Caps: 27. Goals: 0.
Was called up to the South African squad before he had even played a senior game at club level but the potential spotted then has been realised with his elevation to first choice in the team. Slept in train stations so he could get to practice on time at his club while in the Chiefs' youth academy.

22-Shu-Aib Walters (Maritzburg United). Goalkeeper. Born Dec. 26 1981. Caps: 0.
Added to the squad after Emile Baron hurt his shoulder at March's training camp in Brazil and was ruled out of the World Cup. Cape Town-born Walters demanded a loan move away from his club Bloemfontein Celtic in December when he lost his place in the first team to a goalkeeper from Cameroon.

14-Matthew Booth (Mamelodi Sundowns). Defender. Born March 14 1977. Caps: 28. Goals: 1.
Stands close to two metres tall and has become an iconic symbol in the team as one of the few white players but has a huge following among black fans. His surname is chanted every time he touches the ball, which sounds like a barracking but is symbolic of the endearment he commands.

2-Siboniso Gaxa (Mamelodi Sundowns). Defender. Born April 6 1984. Caps: 37. Goals: 0.
Hard-running right back who is an added foil on the attack but by his own admission needs to work on his crosses. He and striker Katlego Mphela cost a South African record fee of 5 million rand ($652,800) when they moved from champions SuperSport United to neighbours Sundowns two years ago.

20-Bongani Khumalo (SuperSport United). Defender. Born Jan. 6 1987. Caps: 14. Goals: 0.
Studious captain of South Africa's triple league champions whose club turned down a 700,000-euro offer from Greek champions Panathinaikos to keep him in South Africa. His mother died during last year's Confederation Cup but he insisted on going on with the tournament.

3-Tsepo Masilela (Maccabi Haifa). Defender. Born May 5 1985. Caps: 31. Goals: 0.
First-choice left back who is one of the team's top performers, having won the Israeli league title with his club last season and competed in the UEFA Champions League against Juventus and Bayern Munich this past season. Made his national-team debut while still on the books of a second-division team.

4-Aaron Mokoena (Portsmouth, England). Defender. Born Nov. 25 1980. Caps: 100. Goals: 1.
South Africa's captain still holds the record as the country's youngest international after getting his first cap soon after his 18th birthday in February 1999. Ajax Amsterdam was his first European club and he has since played in Belgium and at Blackburn Rovers in the English Premier League. Nicknamed 'Mabazo', the Zulu word for axe.

5-Anele Ngcongoa (Racing Genk, Belgium). Defender. Born Oct. 21 1987. Caps: 4. Goals: 0.
Unknown in his own country, having left as a teenager to play in Belgium without ever having played in South Africa's premier league. Made his debut last November in an international against Japan and did enough to convince coach Parreira that he might provide good cover at right back or for the central defenders, which is his preferred position.

21-Siyabonga Sangweni (Lamontville Golden Arrows). Defender. Born Sept. 29 1981. Caps: 9. Goals: 1.
Has emerged as potential starter alongside Mokoena at centre back because of injury to Morgan Gould and the surprise exclusion of Nasief Morris. Elder of two brothers who compete in South Africa's premier league, he has proved a steely defender whose height and pace make him a fearsome prospect.

15-Lucas Thwala (Orlando Pirates). Defender. Born Oct. 19 1981. Caps: 24. Goals: 1.
A popular player with the popular Pirates, for whom he was top goal scorer in the 2008/2009 season. Plays usually in centre of the defence but also at left back for the national side. Injury ruled him out of the Confederations Cup squad last year.

7-Lance Davids (Ajax Cape Town). Midfielder. Born April 11 1985. Caps: 23. Goals: 0.
Strong tackler and good passer of the ball who was a teenage prodigy. He was whisked from Cape Town to 1860 Munich aged 16 and made his Bundesliga debut two years later in the derby against Bayern. His career has tailed off since with stints in Sweden and a return to South Africa at the start of 2009. He has ambitions of returning to Europe after the World Cup.

13-Kagisho Dikgacoi (Fulham, England). Midfielder. Born Nov. 24 1984. Caps: 36. Goals: 2.
Burly, one-time podgy, engine room of the South Africa who won the battle of the bulge that threatened a promising early career and has gone on to win a contract in the English Premier League. His ability to win tackles and move forward rapidly with the ball will be one of the features of South Africa's approach at the World Cup. Comes from the rural setting of Brandfort in the Free State province but now lives in London.

23-Thanduyise Khuboni (Lamontville Golden Arrows). Midfielder. Born May 23 1986. Caps: 8. Goals: 0.
Surprise selection by coach Parreira after the defensive midfielder's strong tackling and astute passing caught the Brazilian's eye. Khuboni has played in five successive internationals since his January debut for Bafana Bafana.

12-Reneilwe Letsholonyane (Kaizer Chiefs). Midfielder. Born June 9 1982. Caps: 13. Goals: 1.
Midfielder who likes to push forward into attack in a playmaking role but can also be utilised in a holding role in the middle of the field. Made his debut two years ago after Chiefs rescued him from relegated Jomo Cosmos and suddenly gave him a platform at the highest level of the domestic game.

11-Teko Modise (Orlando Pirates). Midfielder. Born Dec. 22 1982. Caps: 52. Goals: 10.
Popular pin-up boy of the team, whose image will look out across the country from hundreds of advertising billboards. A late bloomer, he has hardly missed an international since his debut three years ago. His game is full of guile and skill but he is often wasted in a wide role on the left side.

19-Surprise Moriri (Mamelodi Sundowns). Midfielder. Born March 20 1980. Caps: 34. Goals: 5.
Timed to perfection his return from nine months out following knee surgery and has worked his way back into the squad after missing last June's Confederation Cup. His languid-looking style is deceptive for a player with bags of ability and a proven goal-scoring record but he is best played behind the strikers. He is a past winner of South Africa's footballer of the year award.

10-Steven Pienaar (Everton, England). Midfielder. Born March 17 1982. Caps: 49. Goals: 2.
Potential talisman of the team who goes to the World Cup on the back of an outstanding season for his English Premier League side. He is the most successful of South Africa's current foreign-based players and will likely run the midfield or play on the right side. Hails from a tough Johannesburg neighbourhood, has an outgoing personality and is popular among team mates for his sense of humour.

6-MacBeth Sibaya (Rubin Kazan, Russia). Midfielder. Born Nov. 25 1977. Caps: 57. Goals: 0.
A key ball-winner in midfield for the team but might not make the starting line-up if South Africa play with just one defensive midfielder. Has won two successive Russian championships with unfashionable Rubin Kazan, where he has been since 2003, but not played much since the start of the 2010 campaign, leaving questions about his fitness for the World Cup. Played at the 2002 tournament in South Korea.

8-Siphiwe Tshabalala (Kaizer Chiefs). Midfielder. Born Sept. 25 1984. Caps: 48. Goals: 6.
Speedy left wing who has bagged some outstanding goals for his country but is frustratingly inconsistent and moves in and out of the starting line-up. Has been a regular in the squad since being included as a surprise selection for the 2006 African Nations Cup finals in Egypt.

9-Katlego Mphela (Mamelodi Sundowns). Forward. Born Nov. 29 1984. Caps: 31. Goals: 14.
Speedy striker whose pace gives him plenty of chances but whose conversion rate is not strong. He was, nevertheless, the leading scorer in the South African season with 17 goals and scored twice against Spain in dramatic style in last year's Confederations Cup. As a teenager he left without playing any senior soccer in South Africa to join French club Racing Strasbourg but returned home in 2005 after having failed to make the grade.

18-Siyabonga Nomvethe (Moroka Swallows). Forward. Born Dec. 2 1977. Caps: 78. Goals: 16.
Fast striker in the twilight of his career whose inclusion in the squad comes after good league form in the last months of the South African season and the desperate search by Bafana Bafana for a goal scorer. Nomvete's chances of making the 23-man squad were enhanced with goal against Jamaica in a recent friendly in Germany. He played in Italy's Serie A and at the 2002 World Cup in South Korea.

17-Bernard Parker (FC Twente, Netherlands). Forward. Born March 16 1986. Caps: 28. Goals: 9.
Fast, but something of a lightweight, and is likely to partner McCarthy in attack. Part of the Twente side that has won a rare Dutch title under former England manager Steve McClaren but he spent most of the season being used as a substitute.