Amajita Reach AFCON Semis, Qualify For World Cup

Amajita secured a spot in the semifinals of the U20 AFCON and a place in the FIFA U20 World Cup in Chile this September after staging a 1-0 victory over DR Congo at the Suez Canal Stadium on Monday evening.

The SuperSport United young striker, Thabang Mahlangu, scored the winning goal for Amajita in the extra time to make sure Amajita won the match.

Both Amajita and DR Congo started this game on a high foot, and they created many chances in the first 20 minutes, but unfortunately, no one managed to open the scoring as the defenders of both teams were alert at the back.

Amajita almost got a goal in the 25th minute after DR Congo’s goalkeeper Ryan Mayangila made a mistake at the back, but Shakeel April missed an opportunity to score the first goal.

Three minutes after April’s wasted opportunity, Amajita got a free-kick, but Mogamat Abrahams delivered a poor free-kick.

Amajita got another free-kick in the 36th minute after Daniel Tshilanda fouled April, but unfortunately, captain Neo Rapoo hit the wall.

The first half ended 0-0 as both teams failed to score a goal in the whole 45 minutes despite getting many opportunities.

In the second half before even started, coach Raymond Mdaka decided to introduce captain Patrick Autata and Langelihle Phili, resting Abrahams and Thato Sibiya to strengthen his attacking line.

The introduction of this duo had a great impact on Amajita’s attack as they got many chances in the first 10 minutes, but unfortunately, they didn’t use their chances efficiently.

DR Congo almost got the opening goal in the 60th, but fortunately for Amajita, Fletcher Lowe made a great save to deny Samuel Lukisa an opportunity to score the first goal.

As Amajita dropped their tempo, Mdaka made another substitution in the 76th minute, introducing Thabang Mahlangu for Jody Ahshene to rest him.

Amajita got a breakaway attack in the 83rd minute after Autata won the ball and delivered a cross to April, who passed the ball to Phili, but unfortunately, Phili missed an opportunity to open the scoring.

This game ended 0-0 as there’s neither team managed to score and they went to extra time to determine the winner. However, Amajita managed to find the winning goal in the extra time through Mahlangu with a great assist from April.

Following this victory, Amajita not only celebrated reaching the semifinals but also secured a place in the FIFA U20 World Cup in Chile in September this year.

They join Nigeria, Morocco, and the hosts Egypt, who all won on Monday as well, beating Senegal, Sierra Leone as well and Ghana.

This will be the fifth time Amajita is playing in the FIFA U20 World Cup, as they made their debut in 1997, where they lost in the group stage.

In 2017 and 2019, they could not progress beyond the group stages. Their best display was in 2009, when they at least lost in the round of 16 to eventual winners Ghana in Egypt.

In the semifinals of the U20 AFCON, Amajita will face Nigeria on Thursday at Suez Canal Stadium [17:00], while Morocco and Egypt will be facing each other at the 30 June Stadium [20:00].