Cosafa tourney to hone Amajita
Senong sets sights on qualifying for 2019 Afcon and World Cup
The coach of the South African under-20 side Thabo Senong aims to use next month’s Cosafa Youth Championships to sharpen his troops for their push to qualify for the 2019 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (CAF) and the World Cup.
A provisional Amajita squad of 24 players is in camp, gearing up for the Cosafa tournament that will be hosted by Zambia from December 6 to 9.
They have been drawn in Group B alongside Mauritius, Egypt and Mozambique.
“We are already preparing to go to Afcon [in 2019 in Niger]. We are using this tournament as an exercise that can help us build a solid team that can qualify for both Afcon and the World Cup in 2019,” said Senong.
“We are rebuilding our team. We will make sure that 90% of our players [who are going to Zambia], are kept together for the next two years. ”
Amajita’s rebuilding process means that players who are already 20 years old will not be considered going forward. The process has, meanwhile, left the team without a captain because Tercious Malepe, who led the team for the last two years, is already 20.
“It is slightly difficult [to appoint a new captain] at the moment because we have a lot of leaders. Thendo Mukumela, Sergio Kammies, Nkosingiphile Ngcobo and Sanele Tshabalala, they have all been doing a good job in terms of welcoming new players,” said Senong.
Senong’s charges travel to Lesotho today, where they will play a friendly against the neighbouring nation’s senior national team. The final 20-man squad that will travel to Zambia will be announced on November 29.
Rebuilding process has left the team without a captain