Amajita coach Raymond Mdaka has admitted that selecting his final 21-man squad for the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile was a “huge headache.”
The coach officially revealed his squad on Thursday for the tournament set to take place later this month.
Key Players Miss Out
Two notable omissions from the squad are Club Brugge attacker Shandre Campbell and Orlando Pirates defender Mbekezeli Mbokazi. Neither player was part of the team that won the CAF U-20 Championship in Morocco in May.
Mbokazi, who has been named Orlando Pirates’ vice-captain, has also broken into the Bafana Bafana setup. He was even named Man of the Match during the recent FIFA World Cup qualifier draw against Nigeria.
The absence of both Campbell and Mbokazi from the squad’s 10-day training camp this month made their inclusion impossible, as the tournament is not on the official FIFA calendar. Campbell is also a key player for his club, having been included in Club Brugge’s UEFA Champions League squad.
Mdaka’s Selection Process
Despite the challenges, Mdaka expressed satisfaction with his final selection. He explained that having worked with most of the players for a long time made the difficult decisions a bit easier.
“The final list, if you look at it, it consists of amongst 80 percent of the players who have been through the programs since we started our preparation through to the COSAFA, through to the AFCON,” said Mdaka, who was named Coach of the Tournament in Morocco.
He also highlighted the benefit of having players who are getting regular game time at their clubs. “Their regular game minutes in their teams helps us to be in good condition, so you worry less as much as you worry more, because of the kind of players that we have,” he added.
Amajita’s World Cup Challenge
Amajita will be one of four African nations in the tournament, alongside Nigeria, Morocco, and Egypt. The team has been drawn into Group E, where they will face New Caledonia, France, and the USA.
Their tournament schedule is as follows:
- 29 September: vs. France
- 3 October: vs. New Caledonia
- 5 October: vs. USA
“As the technical team, we want to represent the country very well,” Mdaka concluded. “Give our best, try as much as we can and see how far we can go in this tournament. We will do our level best to try and represent the country well.”
Argentina holds the record for the most FIFA U-20 World Cup titles with six, one ahead of Brazil, while Uruguay are the current defending champions, having won the 2023 edition.
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