14 February 2019 — South Africa’s National Under-20 (Amajita) head coach Thabo Senong says it was quite unfortunate that his side lost to Senegal in their U-20 Africa Cup of Nations semi-final clash at the Seyni Kouche Stadium, adding that they fought up until the final whistle.

Amajita suffered a 1-0 defeat to the West Africans, following an unfortunate own-goal which came off defender Givemore Khupe in the 73rd minute.

Amajita will now take on Nigeria in the 3rd/4th place play-off match on 16 February 2019 at the Seyni Kouche Stadium at 17h30 (SA time).

“Tough luck to my boys because we played really well in that match,” Senong said. “We started showing heavy legs in the last 20 minutes of the game, and that is when we decided to introduce a few fresh legs to help us in attack. My boys tried, however, we were just unfortunate not to have come out with the desired result.

“I believe this team will continue improving leading up to this year’s FIFA Under-20 World Cup.”

Senong added that he is also expecting a difficult match from their opponents, adding that they will do everything in their power to come out with a positive result against Nigeria.

Amajita qualified for this year’s upcoming FIFA Under-20 World Cup Poland edition after finishing in the top four of this year’s junior biennial continental showpiece.

That international footballing event will run from 23 May to 15 June.

“We played to a 0-0 draw the last time we played Nigeria in our Group A encounter,” Senong said. “Every game we participate in we always approach it with the intent of winning it. The same attitude will be applied in our 3rd place play-off match against Nigeria”