Mdaka Hails Amajita’s Thrilling Comeback Victory Over Zambia
South Africa Under-20 head coach Raymond Mdaka has emphasised that, despite the importance of the COSAFA Cup, the team’s primary objective was to secure qualification for next year’s U20 Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana.
Amajita booked their place in the final of the CAF U20 Men’s Africa Cup of Nations COSAFA Qualifiers after a thrilling 4-2 victory over Zambia on Friday.
South Africa showed great resilience after going into half-time trailing 1-0. Mdaka’s side responded strongly in the second half, turning the game around to secure a convincing victory and keep their qualification hopes on track.
Amajita will now turn their attention to Sunday’s final, where they will face hosts Mozambique.
“People might have won the trophy, but the key was to qualify for AFCON,” said Mdaka.
“And also, the team that we were playing against – make no mistake, Zambia is a strong team. No wonder they are angry now; they never knew what happened to them, but they were playing against such a strong team.”
Mdaka further praised his players for showing great character throughout their two matches against Angola and Zambia, describing both encounters as challenging.
“Obviously, we knew it was going to be very difficult, but credit to the boys,” said Mdaka.
“The Angola game, the Zambia game – honestly, it needed players with character, players who were ready to go out there and play.”
