Weakened U-20s still confident

Basetsana will be without some key players for the fi rst leg of their 2018 Fifa Women’s Under-20 World Cup qualifying clash with with Burundi at the Prince Louise Rwagarose stadium in Bujumbura on Saturday.

Skipper Linda Motlhalo (right) is one of the players who is not in camp with the squad, as she is busy preparing for her matric exams.

Head coach Maud Khumalo, however, is adamant she has suitable replacements to do the job over the weekend.

“We have a tough task ahead of us. Burundi are not to be underestimated and we need to ensure we are mentally and physically fit for both fi xtures.

“We are missing a few players due to exams but this is what we deal with at junior level. It is something we have thought of and we believe the players that have been called up can and will do the job for us” said Khumalo.

Meanwhile, striker Gabriela Salgado says this game is vital for the team to show how determined they are to qualify for the World Cup.

“We all want to qualify for the World Cup. We have to show how seriously we want to go to France next year,” said the striker.

“We played very well in our previous match (against Namibia), we just have to continue with the momentum from that game to win this match.”

The team assembled for a camp on Sunday and will fly to Burundi on Thursday.

The squad will go into this match having secured their place in the second round of the qualifiers after beating Namibia 9- 0 on aggregate.

Should Basetsana manage to beat the East Africans over two legs, they will head into the third and final round of the qualifiers to play either Morocco or Nigeria for a place in the World Cup, which is set to be hosted in France from August 5 to 24.