Mission accomplished for Amajita coach and squad
U-20s beat Nigeria on penalties in the third-place play-off on Saturday to secure their second-best finish in the continental finals
SA coach Thabo Senong was pleased with the bronze medal gained by his side at the 2019 African Under-20 Championships‚ but admits there is much work to be done before the Fifa Under-20 World Cup in Poland in May. Amajita held Nigeria to a 0-0 draw and then won 5-3 on penalties in the third-place play-off on Saturday to secure their second-best finish in the continental finals after a silver medal in 1997. “I’m happy for my boys because they won and we played against a very good team in Nigeria‚” Senong said. “It was mission accomplished because we wanted to rotate the squad and gave some players caps‚ and we wanted to approach the game with a winning mentality because we saw this as preparation for the World Cup.” Senong was missing several of his first-choice players‚ such as Monaco forward Lyle Foster and Utrecht playmaker Tashreeq Matthews‚ after they were not released by their clubs. It should not be an issue with the World Cup‚ for which clubs will be compelled to release playe...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.