SOUTH Africa’s national Under-20 team goalkeeper Mondli Mpoto has vowed to double his work rate to cement his place in the Fifa Under-20 World Cup squad.
The eagerly awaited tournament in South Korea kicks off on 20 May and ends on 11 June. This will be the third World Cup appearance for Amajita, who are in Group D with Italy, Uruguay and Japan.
Mpoto, who has been part of the junior national team setup for a while, has played in two Africa Youth Cup of Nations tournaments, one with the Under-17s in Niger in 2015 and at the latest Afcon with Amajita in Zambia.
He was also part of Molefi Ntseki’s Under-17 World Cup squad in Chile in 2015.
Amajita leave for the Netherlands on Tuesday, where they will hold their two-week training camp.
The 18-year-old shot-stopper said: “There’s still a lot I must work on, as competition is tough in the goalkeeping department. The Netherlands camp is very important for us, it’s our last chance to prove our worth.
“We qualified for the World Cup in Zambia but there’s lot we still have to work on. I believe the Netherlands camp will help us improve physically and mentally.”
Coach Thabo Senong said he was happy that all the players reported for camp on time, revealing that the door was open for the first team players to join them later.
“We believe the 21 players who will go to the World Cup will come out of the 28 we have now.
“We don’t talk much about the players who are not part of the camp. We will allow them in but joining us late will make it more difficult for them to adapt,” said Senong.
