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Johannesburg - Matthew Booth has attributed South Africa's only good performance at the Soccer World Cup - the 1-1 draw against Mexico in their opening game - to adrenalin, saying a lack of depth in the national set-up is clearly costing them.
The Mamelodi Sundowns defender has been an unused substitute during the opening two games, the second of which saw them thumped 3-0 by Uruguay.
It leaves the hosts on the brink of elimination having collected just a single point so far, the same as final Group A opponents France, who also face an early exit.
Carlos Alberto Parreira's side will need either the Mexicans or the Uruguayans to win by a hefty margin and themselves to the same against Raymond Domenech's team to have any chance of progressing to the last 16.
Booth told BBC's Sportsworld programme: "I think our performance against Mexico was pure adrenalin.
"The second and third games are always games where players tend to show their true qualities. We don't have a lot of depth."
Asked whether he felt the quality of player produced in 2010 were not as good as those that represented the nation 10 to 15 years ago, he continued: "Yes, you hit the nail on the head."
South Africa have been heavily criticised after they fell so easily against the South Americans.
The situation has left Booth unhappy and he knows they now have their backs firmly against the wall.
He added: "It's not nice going into a game against such tough opposition and then to having to rely on other results to help you.
"It's not the perfect scenario, but it's history now and we have to go out there and make sure we win by however many goals."
The Mamelodi Sundowns defender has been an unused substitute during the opening two games, the second of which saw them thumped 3-0 by Uruguay.
It leaves the hosts on the brink of elimination having collected just a single point so far, the same as final Group A opponents France, who also face an early exit.
Carlos Alberto Parreira's side will need either the Mexicans or the Uruguayans to win by a hefty margin and themselves to the same against Raymond Domenech's team to have any chance of progressing to the last 16.
Booth told BBC's Sportsworld programme: "I think our performance against Mexico was pure adrenalin.
"The second and third games are always games where players tend to show their true qualities. We don't have a lot of depth."
Asked whether he felt the quality of player produced in 2010 were not as good as those that represented the nation 10 to 15 years ago, he continued: "Yes, you hit the nail on the head."
South Africa have been heavily criticised after they fell so easily against the South Americans.
The situation has left Booth unhappy and he knows they now have their backs firmly against the wall.
He added: "It's not nice going into a game against such tough opposition and then to having to rely on other results to help you.
"It's not the perfect scenario, but it's history now and we have to go out there and make sure we win by however many goals."
