AMAJITA star midfielder Nkosingiphile Ngcobo has warned his teammates not to undermine their opponents when they start their Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations campaign in Niger from 2-17 February.
Amajita are in Group A against the hosts Niger, Burundi and Africa’s powerhouse Nigeria. They are going to this year’s tournament with a goal of finishing in top four as that will ensure they qualify for the Fifa Under-20 World Cup to be played in Poland from 23 May until 15 June.
Coach Thabo Senong’s charges have not lost a match since 24 May 2017. Their last defeat was at the 2017 World Cup in South Korea, where they lost 2-0 to Italy.
Late last year Amajita defended their Cosafa Championship title and Ngcobo has vowed to continue with that impressive form.
Ngcobo said: “We went to Cosafa to prepare and now we are halfway with our preparations and we must switch on. We know that Afcon is our qualifier for World Cup and we have to go all out to ensure we reach the semi-final. Our coaches keep on preaching that we must not undermine our opponents.”
The team travelled to Nelspruit in Mpumalanga yesterday afternoon, where they will camp for the next five days.
They will play two friendlies this weekend and return to Johannesburg on Monday before they fly to Senegal on Wednesday, where they will make their final preparations.
Ngcobo added: “We have what it takes to go out to Niger and show them what we are made of. We have started studying our opponents, watching their games and noted their key players. We are ready to go there and compete.”
Meanwhile, Senong said it’s important to play strong oppositions.
He stated: “We have one match on Saturday and the other one on Sunday. One has been confirmed against Costa do Sol from Mozambique, a strong opposition to test our boys. We want our boys to be able to deal with physical superiorities, height and running power factors in the Afcon.”
