South Africa under-20 side will meet hosts Zambia in the first Afcon U20 semifinal at the National Heroes Stadium in Lusaka on Wednesday.Amajita finished second in Group B after amassing six points from three games, scoring nine goals and conceding six times at the first hurdle of the continental showpiece.
Qualifying for the semifinals also means that South Africa will represent Africa at the Fifa 2017 U20 World Cup set for May 20 – June 11 in Korea for the first time since 2009.
However, against the Junior Chipolopolo, Amajita face their nemesis, a side they have lost to twice in the past three months both 2-1 losses at the Cosafa U-20 Championship in December in Rustenburg and a friendly match last month in Lusaka.
Amajita head coach Thabo Senong told supersport.com that, “When we came to this tournament, nobody gave us a chance even as we go to the semifinals, we are still the underdogs.”
“It is always nice when you are the underdogs because you get to work hard. You are always in the performance zone and you won’t be in the comfort zone.”
“It will be a David versus Goliath kind of match and we do not know the result of such a match. It is going to be a difficult game. They have been coming in numbers. The best team will win.”
South Africa will be looking to reach their first final since 1997 when they lost to hosts Morocco 1-0 in the northern city of Meknes.
