Amajita look to bounce back against Italy

Amajita will go into their second Group D match at the Under-20 World Cup with a positive mindset after losing their first game 2-1 to Japan but it won’t be easy, said head coach Thabo Senong ahead of the team’s clash with Italy at the Suwon World Cup Stadium in South Korea today.

South Africa and Italy are the only teams in the group yet to reg- ister any points, with the Italians having lost 1-0 to Uruguay in the opening match, which puts Japan and Uruguay in first and second spots respectively with three points on the log.

Going into this important encounter, Senong has highlighted major areas where his players need to match the Italians in order to get a victory.

“We have to work hard to open up the Italians, we have to compete with them in set-pieces and aerial battles, we need to dig deeper to get a positive result. For this mission, we need players with intelligence and big hearts, but I have no doubt in the ability of our team,” said the Amajita mentor.

“The mood and atmosphere is still positive in the camp, the boys are still fully focused for the next two matches in our group.”

The arrival of Reeve Frosler (right) and Teboho Mokoena will certainly boost the strength of the team after the pair arrived late. However, only Frosler looks fit to play having spent more days in Asia than Mokoena.

“Frosler is adapting very well. He managed to sleep about six hours, which is good. My biggest concern was that he would not be able to sleep for long as he battles the huge time difference, but he looks OK and is available for selection. I also hope that Teboho, who has just joined us, is also available but we will see how things go with him,” he added.