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South Africa under-20 head coach Thabo Senong has lauded his players for their performance and fight against hosts Zambia in the first Afcon U20 semifinal on Wednesday in Lusaka.Amajita defended very well in regular time and went on to force extra time, creating several chances in the final third but for Mangani Banda’s saves to deny their fancy goal-scoring front line.

“I congratulate Zambia for going through to the finals. Well done. It was a good match and we had moments when we looked better and they also had moments where they looked better,” Senong explained.

“It was unfortunate. We could have converted two or three chances but I congratulate Zambia but I am also proud of my boys. Just after qualifying for the semifinals that is like the World Cup, obviously every game is preparation for the World Cup.”

Senong had earlier admitted that playing against the hosts was always going to be tough, especially considering that Zambia are a Cosafa side as well. The two teams had played each other twice in the last three months, including at the Cosafa Under-20 Championship in Rustenberg in December and in a friendly game in Lusaka last month.

“I am very happy with the attitude of our players, the response and the way we behaved when we were defending. It was a very good match for us and for the people of Zambia. It is unfortunate that at the end of the day, only one team had to win but I am proud of Amajita.”

Amajita will play at the World Cup for the first time since 2009 when they featured at the Egypt showpiece. They will represent Africa along with Guinea, Senegal and Zambia in Korea.

This article was sourced from the PSL website.