19 January 2019 –South Africa’s National Under-20 (Amajita) head coach Thabo Senong had nothing but positive remarks about how his charges played in their practice match against NFD side, TS Sporting FC, at Ingwenyama Lodge in White River, Mpumalanga on Saturday.

The national juniors where held to a 2-2 draw against the Mpumalanga-based B-side team in an encounter where Senong made mentioned that Amajita showed an impeccable demonstration of having grasped how he wants them to play in game situations moving forward.

Amajita have been in camp in Mpumalanga since this past Wednesday, 16 January.

The national juniors are preparing for the upcoming 2019 CAF Africa Under-20 Cup of Nations that will take place in Niger from 2 – 17 in February.

A top-four finish in that tournament will see Amajita book their place in the 2019 FIFA Under-20 World Cup Poland edition, which will run from 23 May to 15 June.

Amajita are in Group A; and will battle it out with hosts Niger, Burundi and Nigeria, in pursuit of a top two group finish in their group that will guarantee them a place in this year’s Under-20 World Cup.

“We played against a very mature side,” Senong said.  “I am happy with how my charges carried themselves on a pitch because they were able to match the standard of the opposition. There is a lot of improvement just looking at where we started with this team. A whole lot of players showed a lot of progress in their play and decision-making; and I am also looking forward to how the next group is going to play in our next friendly.”

Amajita will now face Mozambican professional football side Costa Do Sol FC in the very same venue on Sunday (20 January), before they travel back to Johannesburg to continue with their local preparations there.

Senong said he was looking forward to that friendly clash, adding that it will prove to be a different test for his other group of players who did not feature in the first practice match against TS Sporting.

Kick-off is at 10h00.