20 January 2019 – South Africa’s National Under-20 (Amajita) squad travelled back to Johannesburg on Sunday afternoon following a successful training camp they held in White River, Mpumalanga.
Amajita coach Thabo Senong said he was pleased with how the four-day camp went, adding that his charges have shown a positive response in adapting to the way he wants them to play ahead of this year’s CAF Africa Under-20 Cup of nations set to take place in Niger.
That football continental tournament will run from 2–17 February.
During their four-day stay in Mpumalanga, Amajita played to a 2-2 draw in their first practice match against NFD side TS Sporting FC this past Saturday. On Sunday, they subjected Mozambican professional football side, Costa do Sol FC, to a 3-2 defeat.
Senong said these are some of the positives he was proud of, however, added that there is still a lot of more work to be done to prepare his charges.
Amajita are in Group A alongside hosts Niger, Burundi and Nigeria.
A top four finish in this biennial continental showpiece will see Amajita book their place in this year’s FIFA Under-20 World Cup set to take place in Poland later in the year.
“We had good exercise here in Mpumalanga,” Senong said. “We played two friendly matches which were very tough for us. This exercise was very helpful because it gave us the needed information regarding our players’ performances as well as which areas we still need to improve on.”
Regarding their practice match against Costa do Sol, Senong reflected: “We created a lot of scoring chances in that match, which is something that I am very proud of. These are young players and it is very important to continue encouraging the good that they do, and work with them on areas that we know they can still improve on.”