Down a man, South Africa beats Bolivia in u17 FIFA World Cup opener
The u17 South African national team, known as Amajimbos, recorded their first-ever FIFA World Cup victory with only 10 players on the field, beating Bolivia 3-1 on Monday, in Qatar.
Coach Vela Khumalo’s squad faced an early setback when Sive Pama was sent off in the first half, leaving South Africa a man down with more than half the game to go.
However, the team quickly responded positively after Pama’s ejection.
Cape Town City’s Emile Witbooi, a member of the SuperSport Schools Class of 2024, scored the opening goal of the contest, with a searing counterattack catching Bolivia off guard.
From the first whistle, the Bolivians defence appeared vulnerable, and South Africa probed and exploited weaknesses by attacking down the flanks through the side’s wings, which was a key strength of Khumalo’s strategy.
At the start of the second half, with Amajimbos leading 1-0, the coach made a couple of substitutions, removing Teboho Mlangeni and Selywn Stevens and replacing them with Lebohang Dlamini and Alwande Booysen, affectionately known as Bhubesi.
Their introduction had the desired effect, particularly from the Lamontville Golden Arrows‘ wing, Booysen, who set up Neo Bohloko for Amajimbos’ second goal.
While South Africa enjoyed attacking success, they were also subjected to some defensive scares and committed a number of errors that could have led to Bolivian goals.
Eventually, one of those mistakes resulted in a penalty for the South Americans and Jesús Maraude punished South Africa by slotting the opportunity past goalkeeper, Lwandiso Radebe, who had pulled off some outstanding saves.
Only one goal separated the sides, but Shaun Els made sure of the win for Amajimbos by netting in additional time to make it 3-1.
South Africa’s next group stage clash is on Thursday, when they take on the host nation, Qatar.
