Clive Barker (File)

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Johannesburg - Former Bafana Bafana boss Clive Barker has backed South Africa to beat Jamaica when the two sides meet in Bloemfontein on Tuesday evening.

The AmaZulu technical director, who led Bafana to the 1996 African Nations Cup triumph, believes that the Reggae Boys will prove to be a much easier prospect then Japan were at the weekend.

Barker, who was at the game in Port Elizabeth on Saturday, says he was left disappointed by Carlos Alberto Parreira's side's performance, but feels that there were many positives to draw from the tie.

He told Usuthu's official website: "Jamaica should be a more comfortable opposition and we should win this game.

"I went to Port Elizabeth to watch Japan play Bafana Bafana. There was a terrific crowd turnout and it was marvellous to see the stadium packed to capacity, although unfortunately Bafana didn't do justice to the crowd and were lucky to get a 0-0 draw result."

'The Dog' believes the introduction of substitutes Daine Klate, Elrio van Heerden and Reneilwe Letsoanyane made a big difference to Bafana Bafana's performance in the second half and that the Bafana mentor should put them in the starting line-up in Bloemfontein.

He continued: "However, on the positive side an introduction of (Daine) Klate, (Elrio) van Heerden and (Reneilwe) Letsoanyane made a difference and we started to look a lot more comfortable going forward than going backwards," he said.

"Carlos Alberto Parreira would have taken note of the performance of the local players and the result would have welcome by the technical team.

"The disappointing part was that we only managed three shots at goal and Benni tried to get going but lacked support and he will have to get himself into a better condition.

"I hope they start with Klate on the left and Siyabonga Sangweni at centre back," he concluded.