Amajita coach Raymond Mdaka described the team’s FIFA World Cup U20 exit as a hard pill to swallow, acknowledging the pain of falling short despite having a team capable of delivering results.

Amajita’s FIFA World Cup U20 campaign came to an end on Wednesday as they succumbed to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Colombia in the last 16.

Despite the disappointment, coach Mdaka believes the experience will be invaluable for his young team. 

“It’s a hard pain to swallow, and more especially if you have a team that you believe can give you the results,” Mdaka said. 

“Sometimes we get to winning, and when we lose, it’s deeper to you. But other than that, we understand because it’s a nature of football, more especially in the knockout stage, where you play and don’t win, you’re out.”

Mdaka praised his team’s character, saying they showed resilience in the face of adversity. 

“But even before one can talk about the match, I think it’s an experience for the boys and they’ve learned a lot, and everybody who was here learned a lot to be in this stage of the World Cup.” 

Amajita’s run to the last 16 was impressive, especially considering they won two games in the group stage against New Caledonia and the United States. 

This was only the second time they have reached the last 16 in the World Cup, with the first being in 2009 in Egypt.

The former Marumo Gallants mentor also reflected on the team’s journey, starting from the COSAFA Cup, where they emerged champions in Namibia, to the AFCON, where they won the tournament in Morocco. 

“It has been a good run starting from our first preparations for the first tournaments that we have played,” Mdaka said. 

“I think also here in the World Cup, we tried to show what we can give as a country, how much we can do in football, and even in the group stage, the character was there, but we didn’t do well.”

Despite the disappointment, Mdaka was proud of his team’s performance. 

“But so far, I think we did well in terms of managing the boys and also managing their recovery.” 

Amajita’s exit marks the end of an exciting campaign, but the experience gained will undoubtedly shape the team’s future.