Amajita are one step away from booking a place in the quarterfinals of their impressive U20 Africa Cup of Nations as they gear up for their final Group A encounter against Zambia.
South Africa only needs a draw to advance to the next stage of the competition. And standing in their way is Cosafa rival Zambia at the 30 June Stadium. Kick-off time is at 8pm.
The young South Africans have won two and lost one of their three matches so far. And they sit at number two with six points.
Oozing with confidence
They go into the Zambia game oozing with confidence after thrashing group leaders and the already qualified Sierra Leone 4-1 on Tuesday.
Striker Jody Ahshene opened the scoring in the 13th minute with a precise right-footed shot from outside the box, following a well-timed assist from Shakeel April.
Captain Neo Rapoo doubled the lead on the hour mark. And substitute Thabang Mahlangu made an instant impact and netted twice in quick succession – first in the 86th minute and again in the 89th minute.
“In our game against Sierra Leone, we knew that it was going to be difficult. And that’s because it looked like they had already qualified (for the next round of the tournament),” said Amajita coach Mdaka.
Tactically disciplined
“But credit to our boys, because they played with character. We were tactically disciplined, we created a number of chances. And we were able to finish those chances. We will see where things go in the next game.”
Mdaka and his side go up against a Zambian side who are also vying for the quarterfinal spots. They sit on number three in the group with five points.
Zambia is the only unbeaten team in the group, with one win and two draws. They need a win over South Africa if they want to go through to the next stage of the competition.
For every team in the tournament, qualifying for the U20 FIFA World Cup in Chile later this year is the ultimate goal. And they can only do so by reaching the semi-finals of the ongoing Afcon.
