SA U-23 depart for Benin

The South African National Under 23 team has concluded preparations ahead of their much-anticipated upcoming 2012 London Olympic Games qualifying match against Benin.

The match is scheduled to take place in Benin on Saturday, 04 June 2011 at the René Pleven Stadium. Kick off is at 16h00 local time in Benin. (15h00 South African time).

The South Africans depart for Benin on Wednesday, 01 June 2011 where they will play that country in what is arguably the players’ most important match as this is an age-based competition. Some of the players will never get another chance to compete in the Olympics as they might be over the required age in the next Games.

The team had travelled to Mauritius in an effort to fine tune the Shakes Mashaba-led side before facing Benin.

South Africa played two friendly matches against the hosts (Mauritius), emerging one nil winners with a Mandla Masango goal in the first match on Thursday (26 may 2011) and then drew the second nil-nil on Sunday (29 May 2011).

“This was a very crucial trip for our players as it gave me and my technical team some idea of how ready we are for Benin. I am happy with the outcome and can draw a lot of positives from those matches. We played much better in the second match even though the result does not reflect the whole match. We are now lok forward to the clash against Benin with a lot of optimism,” said Mashaba.

The head coach adds that Benin is a very physical side and the South Africans should expect a tough day at the office.

“We know that Benin as most African Countries have big physical players and we don’t expect any less this time around and we are ready for that battle. The Mauritians were also a bit on the physical side but we managed to deal with that element of the game and that is why I believe we will do well in Benin,” added Mashaba.

The team departs at 15:40 on Wednesday (1 June 2011) and lands in South Africa on Monday (6 June 2011) at 06h05 in the morning.

Selected squad for Benin: