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| Mphela at the double for South Africa |
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South Africa continued their confident build-up to the World Cup with a crushing 5-0 victory over Guatemala in Polokwane.
Two goals from Katlego Mphela, both from the penalty spot, added to strikes from Reneilwe Letsholonyane, Surprise Moriri and Bernard Parker were enough for Bafana Bafana, who extended their unbeaten run to 11 matches under coach Carlos Alberto Parreira.
The clash at the Peter Mokaba Stadium was also an historic one for captain Aaron Mokoena as he marked the occasion by winning his 100th international cap - the first South African to reach the landmark.
At the start, regular goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune was left on the bench as a precaution after taking a knock to his head against Colombia last week, while Bongani Khumalo again partnered Mokoena in defence.
There were also rare starts for Lucas Thwala, Anele Ngcongca and Letsholonyane, all handed one final chance to impress Parreira ahead of the Brazilian finalising his 23-man squad on Tuesday. But Benni McCarthy was left on the bench as the coach opted for a five-man midfield.
They started brightly too in front of a packed 45,000 crowd, taking the lead just 12 minutes in when referee Ibraham Chaivu awarded a controversial penalty against Gustavo Cabrera. The defender appeared to make contact with the ball outside the box but that did not matter to Mphela, who stepped up to score his 12th international goal.
The lead was doubled after 26 minutes when Thwala made a determined run into the box and cut the ball back for Letsholonyane to score.
After the break, Moriri turned the ball in from close range after Mphela's 48th-minute cross, before another questionable penalty was awarded for handball against Mokoena. But Guillermo Ramirez saw his tame effort blocked by Moeneeb Josephs.
Mphela grabbed his second on the 56-minute mark when Cabrera handled for a second time - this time more blatantly though.
Steven Pienaar then hit the upright with a teasing 20-yard free-kick but the last say of the game belonged to Parker, who struck a fierce left-footed strike from the edge of the box beyond the helpless David Guerra after 82 minutes to help South Africa seal the win.
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