Still a job to do, insists Senong
U-20S HAVE TO LIFT THEMSELVES FOR ITALY Mokoena flies in to help the cause in South Korea.
AAmajita
majita head coach Thabo Senong has admitted that the loss to Japan in their opening game at the Under-20 Fifa World Cup in South Korea was disappointing, but says his players will have to soldier on with two more games still to play.
The South African Under-20 national team surrendered their early 1-0 lead against the Asian Champions ending up losing 2-1 at the Suwon World Cup Stadium on Sunday.
“We have to refresh the boys a little bit, they are obviously a little bit stressed after the loss. But we have to work on them and make sure that they are fresh for their next match,” said the Amajita coach.
On the back of a losing start, Senong emphasised on working on the players’ minds so as not to let the loss demoralise them.
“We are in a competition phase now, it is always important that we deal with the psychological part of the players, we need to motivate them. We are disappointed with the result but we are not discouraged. We still have six points to fight for. It is vital for us as coaches to ensure that the players are ready for the second match,” he added.
Ahead of the second game against Italy tomorrow at the same venue, Amajita will be boosted by the arrival of SuperSport United midfielder Teboho Mokoena who flew to Asia after helping his club reach the final of the Nedbank Cup for the second time in two years.
Mokoena has been a key member of the Amajita squad in the last few months, helping the team reach the final of the Under-20 Cosafa Cup last year in December, and also instrumental in the team’s qualification for the World Cup after finishing in fourth place at the Under-20 Caf Africa Cup of Nations hosted by Zambia in March this year.
Mokoena is the second player to arrive late in South Korea due to club duties after Reeve Frosler of Bidvest Wits was also released after the Clever Boys wrapped up their league title last week.