Amajimbos coach Duncan Crowie sets sights on Zambia after Afcon loss to 'organised' Morocco

01 May 2023 - 13:15 By SITHEMBISO DINDI
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South Africa head coach Duncan Crowie during the 2023 U17 African Cup of Nations South Africa Press Conference held at the Mohamed Hamlaoui Stadium in Constantine, Algeria on 29 April 2023.
South Africa head coach Duncan Crowie during the 2023 U17 African Cup of Nations South Africa Press Conference held at the Mohamed Hamlaoui Stadium in Constantine, Algeria on 29 April 2023.
Image: Shaun Roy/BackpagePix

Amajimbos coach Duncan Crowie says South Africa will need to improve in attack in a bid to turn around their fortunes in the U17 African Cup of Nations (Afcon).  

The SA junior national side opened their Afcon campaign in Algeria with a 2-0 defeat to Morocco on Sunday night.  

Amajimbos conceded two late goals, with the first one being a 74-minute penalty that was converted by Ait Boudal, before Adam Hanin put the final nail in the SA side's coffin with seven minutes to time.  

Crowie and his team are desperate to make it out of the group stages to keep their chances of qualifying for the 2023 U17 Fifa World Cup alive.  

The four semi-finalists of the 11-team continental tournament will book their place in the world showpiece.   

South Africa will face Zambia in their Group B second outing at Mohamed Hamlaoui Stadium in Constantine on Wednesday (9pm, SA time).  

Like Amajimbos, Zambia kicked off their campaign with a 1-0 loss to Nigeria and will be equally desperate to get off the mark against their Southern Africa neighbours.  

Crowie's first challenge is to boost the morale of his boys after the loss to the Moroccans.   

“It’s important for us to tell them that there’s a lot of positives in their game and we need to show them the positives,” Crowie said.  

“As far as the things we need to improve, I don’t think it’s a technical thing. I think it’s more about composure in the final third that we need, just to get more touches and passes going in front of them.”  

After finding it difficult to break down Morocco’s defence, Crowie doesn’t expect to have the same challenges against Zambia or Nigeria.  

“Congratulations to the Moroccan team, they are very disciplined and organised defensively and I don’t think many teams we are going to come up against will be as organised defensively as the Moroccans. That will make it easy for us,” he said. 

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