National soccer team's progress excites Jordan

Amajita striker Liam Jordan says he is excited to link up with the national team for their camp in the Netherlands ahead of the FIFA Under-20 World Cup that starts in South Korea on May 20.

Thabo Senong’s side head to Holland for matches against Feyenoord (Friday)‚ Ajax Amsterdam (Sunday) and PEC Zwolle (next Tuesday) in what will be a testing tour for the team.

But Sporting Lisbon forward Jordan‚ who missed the camp last week in South Africa and will link up directly with the side in Amsterdam on Tuesday‚ says they have nothing to fear and should back themselves at the global showpiece.

“I’m excited for the World Cup‚” he told Times Media Digital in Lisbon.

“I’ve been in good form since I came back from the Afcon [African Under-20 Championships in Zambia].

"I’ve been training really well and the coach here [Sporting Lisbon] has been really impressed with me.

“I am excited to join the team‚ to see my friends again‚ to see the coach [Senong].

"I want to do a job for my country‚ I have always loved playing for South Africa‚ whether it was the Under-17s or now the Under-20s‚ I feel a great sense of pride.

“I feel a sense of responsibility too.

"We are taking the South African flag and representing it in another country‚ and that makes you confident and hungry.

“I haven’t camped in Europe with the South African team before‚ I think it is going to be a big eye-opener for us as a team.

"We have three good friendlies‚ it’s important for us to do well in those.”

Jordan says the first round pool at the World Cup‚ which contains Japan‚ Italy and Uruguay‚ is difficult‚ but not insurmountable.

“We have a tough group‚ I’m not going to lie.

"Japan first game is going to be really hard.

"My first tournament experience [as a 12-year-old] was in Japan and those boys can play football.

"The way they train‚ the way they love the game …

“Everything they do is professional‚ they won’t lose the ball once unless you take it from them.

"I had a Japanese coach in New Zealand [Hiroshi Miyazawa] and I am actually going to speak to him and ask him what advice he has for us as he obviously played the game in Japan and knows the football inside out.

“But you should never undermine South Africans‚ we can play football and we know the game so well.

"We like the limelight‚ we like to show people [what we can do].

“Japan is a tough first game‚ but maybe that is a good thing because if we can get something from it then we will show we are not a team to be taken lightly. We have a great team.”

South Africa previously qualified for the Under-20 World Cup in 1997 and 2009‚ making it into the second round in the latter tournament before losing to eventual winners Ghana.