Makgalwa, Malepe and Mpoto report for U-23 AFCON camp

7 November 2019 — Captain of the South African Under-23 Men’ National Team, Tercious Malepe, has arrived in Cairo to join his compatriots in camp to prepare for the U-23 Africa Cup of Nations.

The Chippa United player was accompanied by goalkeeper Mondli Mpoto and forward Keletso Makgalwa, bringing to 15 the number of players in coach David Notoane’s camp in Egypt.

Makgalwa replaces the injured Phakamani Mahlambi of Mamelodi Sundowns.

Notoane expressed his delight over the arrival of these three players, adding that he was truly grateful to all the clubs which released their players for this crucial continental showpiece.

The coach added that the trio will play a crucial part in his planning for their opening AFCON Group B match against Zambia at the Al Salam Stadium this Saturday (9 November 2019).

That match will kick-off at 20h00.

“We are happy about the arrival of these three players,” Notoane said. “They will certainly add value to the team as we continue with our preparations for our first group game against Zambia. It is also important and proper to convey my gratitude to all the clubs that have released their players. As we speak, we are now sitting on 15 players in camp – even though it’ not where want to be, we are still grateful for the support.”

Asked what he thought of his charges’ performance in their practice match against Zamalek SC which took place at the club’s headquarters on Wednesday evening, Notoane said: “I am very happy with how the boys carried themselves playing against a side such as Zamalek. This practice match gave us a whole lot of positives and some of the things we need to give special attention to before our first group match match against Zambia. I am glad we went through that exercise, it helped us a lot.”