Amajita coach Thabo Senong and his technical team have named their 21-man squad to represent South Africa at the upcoming Fifa U20 World Cup in Poland.
The South African U20 national team coach and his technical staff had selected 26 players, with five not making the cut for the final 21-man squad list submitted to Fifa.
South Africa have been pitted in Group F alongside Argentina, Korea Republic and Portugal, with the top two teams in their group qualifying for the knockout stages of the global tournament.
Amajita assistant coach Helman Mkhalele, deputising for coach Thabo Senong who is dealing with a private family matter back in South Africa, insists that it was not easy to reduce the squad from 26 to 21 men, as the players in the provisional squad were all talented individuals.
‘This was not an easy process to go through, given the fact that we had a very good list of talented players in our provisional squad,’ Mkhalele said.
‘We had constant engagements with our head coach during his selection process, and that enabled us to select what we regard as the best squad for the upcoming World footballing competition.
‘We already had a look at our upcoming World Cup opponents, and we already know how they are going to approach their group fixtures.
‘Our preparation camp was centred around assembling a squad which would be able to match our Group F opponents, and possibly fight to progress to the knockout stages of the tournament. This is going to require a whole lot of hard work. However, I believe that we have assembled a squad that have the right attitude and mindset to do just that.’
The Fifa U20 World Cup is set to take place in Poland and will run from 23 May to 15 June.
Take a look at Amajita’s Fifa World Cup 21-man squad in full:
Goalkeepers: Khulekani Kubheka (Cape Umoya United), Kopano Thuntsane (Pele Pele FC), Glen Baadjies (Mamelodi Sundowns)
Defenders: Thabo Moloisane, Molebogo Modise (both Mamelodi Sundowns), Keenan Abrahams (Ajax Cape Town), Givemore Khupe (Cape Umoya United), Keenan Phillips (Bidvest Wits), Fezile Gcaba (Pela Pele FC), Sbusiso Mabiliso (AmaZulu)
Midfielders: Siphesihle Mkhize, Promise Mkhuma (both Mamelodi Sundowns), Oswin Appollis, Luke Le Roux (both SuperSport United), Njabulo Blom (Kaizer Chiefs), Luvuyo Phewa (Real Kings), Kobamelo Kodisang (Sanjoanense, Portugal)
Forwards: Leo Thethani (Ajax Amsterdam, Netherlands), James Monyane (Pele Pele FC), Lyle Foster (Monaco, France), Thakgalo Leshabela (Leicester City, England)
