Bafana on a learning cliff

Please, no. That's all there is to say about Safa's appeal to CAF, demanding that it change the Nations Cup qualification rules because we failed to read them. Talk about flogging the stable door after the dead horse has bolted.

This is a time for humble introspection in the Bafana camp, not whining. It's also an appropriate time for South Africa's football community to laugh at ourselves, for we richly deserve the mirth at our expense currently echoing across the continent and beyond.

Pitso Mosimane must obviously carry much of the can for the fiasco. He should have clarified all the permutations beforehand. He shouldn't get the chop, though.

Mosimane should instead be given the Shaun Pollock chair in applied mathematics at Unisa, as a friend suggested to me yesterday.

As for Itumeleng Khune, he should be sent to Buenos Aires to pursue an undergraduate diploma in contemporary football theatre at the University of La Plata. His course must include the semester module Effective Time-Wasting 101: theory and practice.

Itu was misinformed that Bafana needed only a point, but he still deserves an official bollocking for his shenanigans. There's nothing wrong with a touch of Latin-style gamesmanship - as a rule, Bafana players are not streetwise enough.

But a touch of subtlety is required to cheat like a pro.

Khune's street-foolish antics insulted the referee, the opponents and the paying fans. Any European club coaches who have been tracking him will likely cross his name off their watch list after seeing the footage.

The less said about Bafana's post-match dance production, the better. But it's safe to say the routine will now be abandoned, which is good. Bafana are back for good from boogie wonderland.

The lads should now strive to recreate the impressive preparation and co-ordination of their dancing in their approach to football, which is supposedly their primary occupation. In future, they should allow their post-match celebrations to be spontaneous - if and when it has been reliably established that there is something to celebrate.

Which brings us to mission 2014. Right now, Brazil seems much further away than the 6064km that separate Clifton and Ipanema beaches.

But there are reasons to be hopeful. The first is that the 2014 World Cup qualification rules are very easy to understand. All Bafana must do is win a group containing Botswana and Central African Republic - and then win a home-and-away play-off against another group winner. Not easy, but not complex.

The second reason for hope is that we've already qualified for the 2013 Afcon.

The third reason for hope is that Bafana are not really as crap as they were on Saturday.

The defence is solid and the midfield will revive when Steven Pienaar and Thulani Serero return. Width and a new shadow striker must and will be found.

As for Mosimane, he should stay on. He has blundered, no doubt, but Safa should allow him to turn his team's pain into wisdom. I hesitate to use that lame loser's alibi, the "learning curve", but it's the only consolation we have.

Granted, it looks more like a learning cliff at present but there must be some curve up ahead. Let's hope it doesn't trip us up.