Singh and Foster can turn fortunes of SA U23s against Ivory Coast

South Africa coach David Notoane hopes the addition of key players to his squad will provide a significant boost ahead of Tuesday’s crucial 2019 Africa Under-23 Cup of Nations Group B clash against Ivory Coast.

The side opened their campaign with a 0-0 draw against Zambia on Saturday, a match in which they had just 15 squad members to choose from, including three goalkeepers.

But subsequent to that, the SuperSport United duo of midfielders Teboho Mokoena and Sipho Mbule, Kaizer Chiefs defender Siyabonga Ngezana and strikers Luther Singh and Lyle Foster have linked up with the team in Egypt.

They could all go into the starting line-up for Tuesday’s match, with only Cape Town City defender Keanu Cupido still making his way to the tournament after his club’s clash with Black Leopards in Polokwane on Sunday.

“We have received three more players, which pushes our squad number to 20 of the expected 21, with Keanu Cupido making the long travel from down south on the border with Zimbabwe to Egypt, so he will arrive tomorrow [Tuesday] morning,” said Notoane.

“We are happy that we now have a full squad to choose from, in terms of our permutations going into the Ivory Coast game. We are looking forward to taking the three points that would put us one foot in the semifinals.”

The addition of Portugal-based Singh and Foster, who is on loan at Cercle Brugge in Belgium, is a real game-changer for South Africa after Notoane admitted they were too light up-front against the Zambians. 

“We have done very well as a group. We had to devise a plan that makes sure we did not lose the game and gave us a chance to get something out of the game, based on available resources,” said the coach.

“We had to juggle players around a bit and make sure we had balance in terms of players that could come off the bench.

"Now we have a full complement, so we will build on the performance of the first game - but we also have to build our quality, especially up front, where we lacked a little bit. For the moments that we created, we could have scored a goal or two with more composure.”

Ivory Coast defeated powerhouse Nigeria 1-0 in their opening game on Saturday and will present a mighty challenge for the South Africans.

All but three of their players are based in Europe, including Foster’s clubmate, defender Kouadio-Yves Dabila, and Cheick Timité, who is with Bongani Zungu at Amiens in France. Toulouse forward Ibrahim Sangaré has already played for the senior Ivory Coast side, including five caps this year alone.

The top two in each pool advance to the semifinals, with South Africa meeting Nigeria on Friday.

The leading three teams in the competition will seal a place at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.