Benni McCarthy believes Lyle Foster could eventually take his place in South African football history.
The former Bafana Bafana striker remains the country’s all-time leading goalscorer with 31 international goals.
However, McCarthy sees Foster as a genuine contender to surpass that impressive achievement.
The Burnley forward has scored 10 goals for South Africa so far. Meanwhile, McCarthy believes his potential successor needs the right support.
The Kenya national team coach shared his assessment following Friday’s 2-2 draw against Bafana Bafana.
The teams met in a 2027 AFCON qualifying encounter at Orlando Amstel Arena in Soweto.
McCarthy explains why scoring has become difficult for strikers
McCarthy believes modern football tactics have created additional difficulties for traditional centre-forwards.
He pointed particularly to the growing preference for inverted wingers. These players frequently cut inside instead of delivering crosses into the penalty area.
Consequently, strikers often receive fewer opportunities to attack crosses and finish scoring chances.
McCarthy believes these tactical changes make developing prolific goalscorers increasingly challenging.
Foster needs better service to break McCarthy’s record
Despite those concerns, McCarthy remains convinced Foster possesses everything required to become South Africa’s greatest goalscorer.
He also highlighted the importance of building attacking systems around strikers’ individual strengths.
“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.
McCarthy’s message is clear: Foster has the talent, but Bafana must create opportunities for him.
The post Benni McCarthy backs Lyle Foster to break his Bafana goalscoring record appeared first on iHarare News.
