Amajimbos will be taking to the pitch today intending to kill two birds with one stone, as a win or even a draw against Burkina Faso will not only advance them to the quarterfinals of the Afcon but also book them a spot in the upcoming U17 Fifa World Cup in Qatar later this year.
The young South Africans will cross swords with Burkina Faso in their final Group B match at the Stade Larbi Zaouli in the Moroccan capital, Casablanca, at 6pm.
South Africa is currently on number two in the group with four points and will hope to get a result against a strong Burkina Faso side that is sitting comfortably on top with six points.
Amajimbos put themselves in a good position to advance to the knockout stages of the competition when they defeated Egypt 4-3 during their opening match. They then went on to bravely secure a crucial point with the goalless draw against Cameroon midweek.
“Burkina Faso is a strong and good team, so it will be important for us to go back, recover well, and plan thoroughly for them,” said Amajimbos coach Vela Khumalo ahead of the match.
“We are going for nothing less than three points, and I don’t think we are going to have a problem with it. We will plan thoroughly, and then we will hope to get our three points from them.”
According to Fifa, only ten of the 16 teams competing in the current Africa Cup of Nations will advance to the World Cup in November, and Khumalo is confident that his team has what it takes to add their name to the hat.
“We are going to showcase our talent [at the Afcon] because we have a talented team.
“We want to qualify for the World Cup, and we surely want to be counted among the 10 teams that are going to Qatar from Africa,” Khumalo added.
The only threat to South Africa is Cameroon, as they have one point, and a win for them against bottom of the table Egypt will move them level on four points with Amajimbos.
So, a draw for Amajimbos against the Little Stallions this evening will be more than enough to achieve their two feats.
