Midfielder Gomolemo Kekana has declared South Africa ready for their crucial U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) clash against Nigeria at the Stade Chahid Hamlaoui on Saturday (9pm).
Kekana, who has been one of the key players in the heart of the midfield with Gabriel Amato and Michael Dokunmu during the opening two matches, said they are psyched up for the match.
A draw against Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets may be enough for Amajimbos to qualify for the knockout stages but Kekana and his young teammates will be going all out for victory.
“I could say that we have prepared well for the game, we are in the right frame of mind and we thank the coaches for how they have prepared us,” said Kekana, who started games against Morocco and Zambia and plays for the junior team of DStv Premiership side TS Galaxy.
Amajimbos psyched up for crucial U-17 Afcon clash against Nigeria
Image: Shaun Roy/BackpagePix
Midfielder Gomolemo Kekana has declared South Africa ready for their crucial U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) clash against Nigeria at the Stade Chahid Hamlaoui on Saturday (9pm).
Kekana, who has been one of the key players in the heart of the midfield with Gabriel Amato and Michael Dokunmu during the opening two matches, said they are psyched up for the match.
A draw against Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets may be enough for Amajimbos to qualify for the knockout stages but Kekana and his young teammates will be going all out for victory.
“I could say that we have prepared well for the game, we are in the right frame of mind and we thank the coaches for how they have prepared us,” said Kekana, who started games against Morocco and Zambia and plays for the junior team of DStv Premiership side TS Galaxy.
SA turns attention to Nigeria as they look to qualify for knockout stages of U-17 Afcon
“They also showed us the mistakes we made in the last game against Zambia and we just need to continue working hard and play our normal football,” added Kekana.
South Africa go into this match sitting third in the group while Nigeria is second but they are both tied on three points with the Golden Eaglets ahead on goal difference.
The last time the two sides met was in 2015 at the Africa U-17 Championship where South Africa won 1-0 in the semifinals and coach Duncan Crowie admitted the match will not be easy.
Crowie stressed they will not focus on what’s happening in other groups to try to determine what their fate might be but will look to do the job against Nigeria.
SA defeat Zambia to get U17 Afcon campaign back on track
“To a certain degree we are ready as far as our game against Nigeria is concerned.
“Yes, we still have one final training session and a video session before training to give the players an idea of what Nigeria is all about, their strong points and where we can hurt them.
“We have seen Nigeria play and they are a quality team,” added the Amajimbos mentor. We know a wounded animal is dangerous (Nigeria lost to Morocco) but I am looking forward to a good game.”
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