Amajimbos give SA hope

The mandate from the head honchos at Safa was to qualify for the World Cup. That box was ticked and now the national under-17s have set their sights on becoming the African champions.

Amajimbos finished second in Group B at the African Junior Championships in Niger to book their place in the semifinals of the eight-team competition. By doing so they also booked a place at the under-17 World Cup - for the first time in the team's history. That tournament will be played in Chile in October.

Amajimbos, who amassed five points in their group after a 3-1 win against Cameroon and 2-2 draws against both Ivory Coast and Mali, face two-time champions Nigeria tomorrow in the last four, eager to upset an overwhelming tournament favourite.

Amajimbos coach Molefi Ntseki praised his boys for the character displayed in the group stage, particularly in the game against Mali when they came from two goals down to secure a vital point.

He is confident they can upset a Nigerian team that finished top of group A on seven points, thanks largely to the form of their attacking players Kelechi Nwakali and Victor Osimhen, who have scored three goals each.

"We had a meeting with the boys and explained how important it was to overcome the final hurdle," Ntseki said yesterday.

"Everybody was happy that we qualified for the World Cup, but everything is back to normal now. We have to focus on our next game against Nigeria, which is going to be a tough one.

"I was impressed with the boys and the character they showed in the group stages.

"We were in a group with top African countries but we did not give anybody a title, and that's how we are going to approach the game against Nigeria.

"They have qualified for the semifinals and so have we. Anything is possible. It's up to us, so we are going to play with the same determination we have shown in this competition."

Ntseki said a tough qualifying campaign helped build the character of the team. Amajimbos beat Tanzania and Egypt over two legs to qualify for the competition.

"The boys did not have international experience when we started last year, but the qualifiers helped us a lot, especially the one against Egypt. We kept on fighting and ended up qualifying. We learnt a lot from that experience," the coach said.