Head coach of the Burger King-sponsored South African u20 Men’s National Team, Thabo Senong, believes preparations are coming together nicely.

Amajita are currently at their base camp in Suwon, Korea Republic, to get ready for the 2017 FIFA u20 World Cup.

The squad has already had four training sessions and they will face Costa Rica in an international friendly match on Monday, 15 May 2017.

The clash takes place in Gapyeong – about an hour and thirty minutes’ drive from Amajita’s base camp.

Kickoff is at 16H00 local time (09h00 SA time).

Senong says he is happy that the players are responding positively.

“The team is still adapting to different conditions and I have a strong belief that they will be settled come match time (against Costa Rica). It has been a tough few days for the entire travelling party, but I am impressed that the players are responding positively to the adjustments, especially training. The team’s management, in conjunction with the players, have adopted a strategy that will benefit the whole team,” said Senong.

“We face Costa Rica after we have done a lot of physical conditioning since our arrival here, so the match will be the last part of heavy physical training. Going forward, the focus will be on reducing the load and putting more emphasis on tactical work, team work and also build on the team’s morale – these become the most crucial characteristics of a team in a tournament because a team that sticks together, fights for one another and has a good cohesion, is always guaranteed to perform well.”

Costa Rica is in Group C of the World Cup along with Portugal, Iran and the other Southern African representative, Zambia.

The FIFA U20 World Cup kicks off in seven days time. It will be played from 20 May – 11 June.