Head coach of the South African u20 Men’s National Team, Thabo Senong, has announced a provisional squad of 26 players for the 2016 COSAFA u20 Cup tournament scheduled to take place in Rustenburg from 7 – 16 December.
Head coach of the South African u20 Men’s National Team, Thabo Senong, has announced a provisional squad of 26 players for the 2016 COSAFA u20 Cup tournament scheduled to take place in Rustenburg from 7 – 16 December.
Amajita will hold their training camp in Rustenburg from today (Monday, 28 November) as Senong assesses his players further.
The squad will be trimmed down to the required 20 for the tournament on Sunday, 4 December – six players will be released from camp.
With some of his regulars now available after sitting down for year-end exams as well as others featuring for their clubs in the MDC Challenge, Senong has made several changes to the squad that defeated Kenya 3-1 in an international friendly match on Saturday, 26 November.
<blockquote”I have always said due to the unavailability of the regular players for the Kenya match, it was a good chance for those who were selected to stake their claim in the final COSAFA Cup squad. I was impressed by some players, hence we have kept them to get an even more closer look before we trim the squad down. What the Kenya game indicated to us is that we have a very big and good pool of players. Most of them in that squad didn’t have experience but they played very well against a very strong and matured side,” said Senong.
“I am also happy that we have the other players back in the team. We are now entering our final week of preparations, so it pleases me that we have the players that we will use in the tournament. While we won against Kenya, there are still some areas of concern and we will use this final camp before the start of the tournament to work on those aspects we are not happy about.”
The Burger King-sponsored Amajita will hold their training sessions at Olympia Park Stadium in Rustenburg.
At the COSAFA CUP, the South Africans are in Group A alongside Lesotho, Swaziland and Botswana.
Amajita are the defending champions after beating Kenya 2-0 in the final in Lesotho three years ago.
The hosts will face Lesotho in the opening match of the COSAFA u20 Cup at the Moruleng Stadium on Wednesday, 7 December.
Kickoff is at 19h30.
South Africa will lock horns against Swaziland in their second fixture, while Lesotho will go toe to toe with Botswana.
The matches will take place at the Moruleng Stadium, on Friday, 9 December with a kickoff of 14h00 and 11h00 respectively.
The final group stage clashes will be played on Monday, 12 December, with both matches kicking off at 17h00.
Amajita will host Botswana at the Moruleng Stadium and Lesotho will be up against Swaziland at the Mogwase Stadium.
GROUP A FIXTURES
| 07 December | Swaziland vs Botswana | Moruleng Stadium | 14h00 |
| 07 December | South Africa vs Lesotho | Moruleng Stadium | 19h30 |
| 09 December | Lesotho vs Botswana | Moruleng Stadium | 11h00 |
| 09 December | South Africa vs Swaziland | Moruleng Stadium | 14h00 |
| 12 December | Lesotho vs Swaziland | Moruleng Stadium | 17h00 |
| 12 December | Botswana vs South Africa | Moruleng Stadium | 17h00 |
PROVISIONAL SA u20 COSAFA CUP SQUAD
| GOALKEEPERS | |
| Sanele Tshabalala | Bidvest Wits FC |
| Darren Johnson | Ajax Cape Town FC |
| Kopano Thuntsane | Orlando Pirates FC |
| DEFENDERS | |
| Reeve Fosler | Bidvest Wits FC |
| Thendo Mukumela | Mamelodi Tigers FC |
| Kananelo Motsoeneng | School of Excellence |
| Tercius Malepe | Orlando Pirates FC |
| Bonolo Seeco | Bloemfontein Celtic FC |
| Givemore Khupe | Bidvest Wits FC |
| Aghmat Ceres | Ajax Cape Town FC |
| Kabelo Seriba | FC Metta (Latvia) |
| Mokgapedi Lesiane | Harmony Academy |
| MIDFIELDERS | |
| Wiseman Meyiwa | Kaizer Chiefs FC |
| Nkosingiphile Ngcobo | Kaizer Chiefs FC |
| Sibongakonke Mbatha | Bidvest Wits FC |
| Kobamelo Kodisang | Platinum Stars FC |
| Luther Singh | Gais Goteborg FC (Sweden) |
| Sydney Mtshweni | Supersport United FC |
| Sphumelele Mbulu | Orlando Pirates FC |
| Sipho Mbule | Harmony Academy |
| Lehlohonolo Radebe | Polokwane City Rovers FC |
| Keletso Makgalwa | Mamelodi Tigers FC |
| Katlego Ntshabeleng | University of Johannesburg FC |
| Sifundo Sibiya | Bidvest Wits FC |
| STRIKERS | |
| Menzi Ndwandwe | Amazulu FC |
| Itumeleng Shopang | Kaizer Chiefs FC |