Steven Pienaar (Gallo)

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Johannesburg - Carlos Alberto Parreira is ready to unleash the ace up his sleeve against Colombia at Soccer City on Thursday.

Everton midfielder Steven Pienaar, who was rested in the 1-1 draw with Bulgaria, will be included in the starting line-up at Africa's biggest stadium.

And it is not only the moment the whole country has been waiting for since the turn of the year, Parreira has also been looking forward to mixing his star player with the rest of his back following the training camps in Brazil and Germany.

And the World Cup winning coach predicts that with Pienaar's introduction into the fold, Bafana's performances will be elevated.

"We have a lot of playmakers in the team and we are improving with every game," said Parreira after the Bulgaria match.

"We still have Steven Pienaar, who has not played a single game in these warm-up matches. The level of the team's performance is going to rise."

The use of 'Schillo', however, means that one of Surprise Moriri, Teko Modise or Siphiwe Tshabalala is likely to sit out against Colombia.

The former has found his feet again and boasts the experience of being a stand-in captain, while Shabba's lethal left foot has done wonders for the national team since January.

"The team has a shape, but I don't want to change that shape," said Parreira.

"We brought in new players against Bulgaria, but in the next game there will be one more (Pienaar) to bring in, because we need to start settling ahead of the World Cup."

It doesn't really matter where Parreira decides to use the nifty playmaker, because Stevie P has proved he can be effective in all the attacking areas of midfield.