3 May 2019 – South Africa’s National Under-20 (Amajita) side will take on Qatar in a friendly match on Sunday (5 May) in Slovakia as part of their preparations leading to the upcoming 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
The national juniors will fly out to Slovakia this evening from Poznan, Poland via Vienna, Austria at 18h45 and are expected to arrive there at 20h50.
Amajita coach Thabo Senong said he was looking forward to the encounter, adding that it will play a massive role in getting his charges ready for their World Cup group fixtures.
In the World Cup, Amajita are pitted in Group F alongside Argentina, Korea Republic and Portugal.
That international footballing event will run from 23 May to 15 June.
A top two finish in their group will guarantee them a place in the knockout stages of the tournament.
“We had an early training session this morning just before our trip to Slovakia ahead of our friendly match against Qatar,” Senong said. “We will use this encounter to assess both the mental and physical readiness of our team leading up to the World Cup. We really want the team to do well there.
“We will also use this match as an opportunity to help our boys gel together into one unit, while also working really hard to build the physical and tactical base of the team.”
Amajita will fly back to Szamotuly, Poland on 6 April; where they will continue with their World Cup preparations.
They will also play Ukraine on 18 April before the World Cup kicks off on 23 May.