Youth players in Bafana cup squad
SOUTH Africa will take a team based around the SA Under-20 side that took part in the Fifa Under-20 World Cup to the Cosafa Cup in Rustenburg.
Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter said South Africa would name a squad with an emphasis on development for the June 25 to July 9 tournament for Southern African nations.
He said the core of the team would consist of SA’s U-20s, who exited in the first round of the U-20 World Cup in South Korea last month‚ losing against Japan and Italy‚ and drawing against Uruguay.
“Cosafa is going to be totally development. It’s going to be building on that Under-20 team‚” Baxter said.
“I can’t say that I don’t care if we don’t get good results, but I do care that we see improvement, progress and development.
“I would rather see that and lose 1-0 than win 2-0 with two offside goals‚ and play a team of 35-year-olds.
“That’s not to say we can’t have a 35-year-old in the squad to help the youngsters, but the emphasis will be on development.”
Baxter won his first match of his second tenure as Bafana coach 2-0 against Nigeria in Uyo in Saturday’s 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.
South Africa then lost 2-1 in Tuesday night’s friendly against Zambia at the Moruleng Stadium.
Bafana‚ last year’s Cosafa champions in Windhoek‚ have a bye into the quarter- finals where they meet the winners of Group A (Angola‚ Mauritius‚ Malawi and Tanzania) at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium on July 2.
Baxter‚ who will see out his contract with SuperSport United for the remainder of this season, simultaneously taking the Bafana reins‚ also has the Nedbank Cup final against Orlando Pirates in Durban on June 24 to prepare for.