Almost down and out, but still slim hope

Amajita’s stay at the Under-20 Fifa World Cup in South Korea seems to have come to an end having already lost two matches, but team captain Tercious Malepe (above) remains hopeful that they might sneak into the knockout stages of the competition as one of the best third-placed teams should they win their last group game against Uruguay at the Incheon Stadium today.

As it stands, South Africa’s Under-23s are at the bottom of the group with no points ahead of their clash with Uruguay, while the South Americans are on top of the table with six points and have already qualified for the knockout stages having registered two wins.

“I think there’s still a chance for us. We really need be focused because we’ve been doing well and we’ve been working hard but we haven’t got the results we wanted.

“It’s a must-win situation. We have to work extraordinarily hard so that we can get the three points and maybe we can be the best third-placed team, which should enable us to reach the next round,” Malepe told FIFA.com.

“For me, I still have hope, I still believe that we can make it to the next round.”

Malepe’s hope, however, doesn’t only lie on him and the rest of his team-mates. Despite the need to beat an experienced Uruguay side by three goals without reply to stand a chance of going through, Amajita need Japan to do them a favour by beating the Italians in the other group fixture with both teams level on three points.

Amajita haven’t played anywhere near their best football at the tournament, with only their opening game against Japan being a memorable one where they surrendered a 1-0 lead only to lose 2-1 to the Asian champions.

It will take a lot of hard-work and determination for Thabo Senong’s charges to pull off a win against an Uruguayan side already being tipped as favourites to win the competition.

It’s a must-win situation. We have to work extraordinarily hard so we can get the three points. Tercious Malepe Amajita captain