YOUNG Bafana’s midfielder Bongani Sam is under pressure to impress coach David Notoane to win a place in the final squad for the SA Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations finals.
The tournament is billed for the Cairo International Stadium and Al Salam Stadium in Egypt from 8-22 November.
Notoane was clever enough to secure two friendlies against the Pharaohs to be played in Egypt on Friday and Sunday as part of his preparations.
But Sam is under pressure not to miss the boat after recovering from a hamstring injury, sustained during Bafana Bafana’s Cosafa Cup in June, and he is out to compete for a place.
The 22-year-old Orlando Pirates youngster is aware that this is his last year to play in the U-23 category, and he flew off to Egypt yesterday hyped up to create an impression and win a place in Notoane’s final squad.
The top three finishers at next month’s U-23 Afcon will win a place in the 2020 Olympic Games in Japan
But according the Olympic football rules, a player who turns 23 on the year of the Games is still eligible to play, which opens up an opportunity for Sam. if they qualify for the Olympics.
Notoane will announce the final squad for the competition in two weeks.
“Before one can even think about the actual tournament, we first need to do well in Egypt this weekend,” said Sam after the SA U-23 were drawn in Group B alongside Ivory Coast, Zambia and Nigeria.
“Going there (Egypt) is pressure on its own, if we fail to impress and don’t get positive results, we will miss out on the final selection.
“The coach always reminds us that there are so many players hence we must not relax. There is a lot of expectation from us in the two games.
“People have been comparing us to the past group that qualified for the Olympics in 2016, and I feel like we are capable of doing more than that.
“Everyone in camp is looking forward to working towards our goal, which is to qualify for the Olympics.”