Hope is not yet lost for Amajita coach Raymond Mdaka, who has confirmed that there is still a chance to have rising star Mbekezeli Mbokazi for the U20 Fifa World Cup later this month.
Mbokazi is currently in camp with the senior national team, Bafana Bafana, as they gear up for the upcoming 2026 World Cup qualifiers, starting with Lesotho on Friday and Nigeria next Tuesday.
Mdaka, who was speaking to the media during Amajita’s friendly match against AmaTuks at the University of Pretoria on Thursday morning, confirmed that Mbokazi is still part of their final squad list. And he still stands a chance to be selected.
‘We are with him in spirit’
“We told ourselves that yes, we are without Mbokazi but we are with him in spirit,” Mdaka said.
“And I don’t want to comment that much for now and jinx things. Because we believe he can still form part of the final squad.
“In fact, we have him on our list because he is one player that has grown with this team. And he has been part of the process that got us this far.
“So, I will not comment that much because he is currently with Bafana Bafana for the World Cup qualifiers. Because if he was not with Bafana, he was going to be with us.”
Amajita won the encounter 3-2 win over Motsepe Foundation Championship side AmaTuks.
Siwelele FC defender Neo Rapoo, Siviwe Nkwali of Stellenbosch FC and Club Brugge’s starlet Shandre Campbell were all on target for the reigning U20 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) champions.
All going well with players
“We are happy with that we have seen so far. It has only been four days in camp and a couple of sessions. But 90% of the players here are those we started with earlier in our previous camps.
“Everything is going well but just complex and difficult. Because we have 30 players here and we have to trim the squad down to 21. Which is quiet challenging, given the quality of players we have here,” Mdaka added.
Amajita will now quickly turn their attention to the next friendly match against Motsepe Foundation side Gomora United on Saturday.
