Amajimbos head to Qatar for u17 FIFA World Cup
After a long period of waiting that left fans in suspense, the South African Football Association (SAFA) has finally revealed the squad that will represent South Africa at the u17 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, which starts on Monday, 3 November.
The u17 South African national team, known as Amajimbos, qualified for the u17 FIFA World Cup earlier this year and completed their preparations on Wednesday, in Johannesburg.
They left for Qatar on Thursday, fuelled by aspirations of reigniting the nation’s passion for football, which has seen a resurgence in support for the national teams after decades of disappointment.
The World Cup opportunity is also important for young talents, such as Emile Witbooi, who plays for Cape Town City and attended trials at Chelsea in England last year, to showcase their talents on the global stage.
Coach Vela Khumalo, who guided Amajimbos to World Cup qualifications, told SAFA Media that although there is potential for progress following his team’s preparation match against the Kaizer Chiefs’ DStv Diski Challenge team, he was satisfied with their performance on the pitch on Wednesday evening.
“Even though we played very, very well against Kaizer Chiefs, a strong DDC team that is going to Manchester, we cannot get carried away because we played well here. There are certain things that we still need to work on,” he said.
South Africa is placed in Group A of the u17 FIFA World Cup and will play against the host nation, Qatar, as well as Bolivia and Italy.
Amajimbos kick off their World Cup campaign against Bolivia on Monday of next week, followed by their second outing on Thursday, 6 November, against Qatar.
Their final group match will be against Italy on Sunday, 9 November.
Khumalo believes his charges have what it takes to qualify for the knockout stages.
“We can get out of the group from what I saw,” he said. “But you never know if that was the true reflection of the teams or if they were still preparing, but honestly speaking, we stand a good chance of getting out of the group,” he concluded.
SQUAD
Goalkeepers
Lwandiso Radebe, Keabetswe Morake, Sello Mokhobo
Defenders
Sive Pama, Lunje Noqobo, Liam Marthinus, Alwande Booysen, Abulele Dlekedla
Midfielders
Kamohle Mareletse, Teboho Mlangeni, Joshua Taylor
Forwards
Luke Hendricks, Selywn Stevens, Shaun Els, Emile Witbooi, Tumi Mothapo, Neo Bohloko, Will Henson, Lebohang Dlamini, Omphemetse Sekgoto
