SA U-20 want to end Cosafa/Afcon tournament by beating Zambia in final

Whatever happens in the Cosafa/Afcon U-20 final against Zambia on Saturday in Maputo, South Africa U-20 coach Raymond Mdaka says the right boxes would have been ticked at the tournament.

Amajita take on Zambia to decide the Cosafa champions but the most important thing for both teams is that they will represent Cosafa at the 2025 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon). 

“We came to this tournament to compete in every game. We might lose the final on Saturday against Zambia but we would have given the same attitude and approach that we showed during the tournament,” said Mdaka. 

“The main aim for us was to qualify for Afcon, but many other things will always be there because we are talking about U-20s who in years to come could be with the U-23s and the senior national team.” 

Mdaka added he hopes some of the players can go on to play regularly for their Betway Premiership teams this season to gain experience that will be valuable at Afcon. 

“I don’t have control of what is going to happen to the players when they go back to their clubs but we need to grow as a country and have younger players entering the professional sides at an early age. 

“That becomes the process where you achieve things bit by bit. We are not only looking at the team, but also developing individuals by improving them as human beings and in football in general.” 

Mdaka went to the tournament with Shandre Campbell who joined Club NXT in the Challenger Pro League in Belgium from SuperSport United during the off-season and was also used to inspire other players. 

“To us it was a blessing [to have Campbell] but we are not having him for the first time in camp. We had him when we started the camp while he was still at SuperSport United.

“He mixed with most of these boys well and this time it was more of a coming together as they have trained together before. He is also a motivation to other players that it is possible to move overseas at a younger age.”