Former South Africa striker Benni McCarthy has expressed hope that Lyle Foster will eventually surpass his record as the country’s leading international goal scorer, but believes changes in modern football have made the task more difficult for today’s forwards.

McCarthy, who currently coaches Kenya, holds the record for the most goals scored by a South African in international football, having netted 31 times for Bafana Bafana. Foster, meanwhile, has scored 10 goals for his country and has the opportunity to close the gap as his international career progresses.

The former striker shared his thoughts after Kenya played out a 2-2 draw against South Africa in their CAF 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying encounter on Friday night. The match was played at the Orlando Amstel Arena in Soweto.

Despite recognising the challenge facing Foster, McCarthy believes the current generation of strikers operates in a different footballing environment, where tactical changes have affected the opportunities available to attackers.

One of the main developments he highlighted was the growing use of inverted wingers, a tactical approach that often sees left-footed players deployed on the right and right-footed players operating on the opposite flank.

According to McCarthy, this has reduced the traditional supply of crosses into the penalty area, making it harder for central strikers to benefit from the kind of service that was common during his playing career.

“Well, listen, it’s not just in South Africa, it’s a worldwide thing because when you look at modern-day football, now most teams play inverted wingers,” McCarthy told journalists.

“So you don’t get crosses anymore, putting it near post for strikers to make that near-post run. It’s difficult when you play a left-footer on the right, or a right-footer playing on the left.

“So where are the crosses going to come from? The strikers keep making movements. Back in my days, we had Delron Buckley, for example; he was a left-footer.

“Myself, Shaun Bartlett, and Sibusiso Zuma, we had to make sure, you know, when the ball is on the left foot, one goes near post, one goes second post. Wherever that ball lands, one of us is going to get it.”

McCarthy used examples from his own international career to explain the difference between the attacking systems of his playing days and those commonly employed by teams today.

He recalled playing alongside Delron Buckley, Shaun Bartlett and Sibusiso Zuma, explaining how their movements in the penalty area were coordinated to take advantage of crosses delivered by traditional wide players.

The former Bafana Bafana forward said their approach involved ensuring that attacking players occupied different areas of the goalmouth, with one making a run towards the near post and another attacking the far post.

Such movements increased the chances of one of the forwards getting on the end of a delivery into the box.

However, McCarthy believes the increased preference for inverted wingers has changed the nature of service into the penalty area, requiring modern strikers to adapt their movement and approach to goal-scoring opportunities.

His assessment highlights the challenge facing Foster as he continues his international career and attempts to reduce the difference between his current tally and McCarthy’s longstanding record.

With 10 international goals to his name, Foster remains some distance behind the former striker’s 31-goal achievement. Nevertheless, McCarthy is hopeful that the younger forward can eventually succeed him as South Africa’s most prolific international goal scorer.