Amajita will be without captain Tercious Malepe for their opening 2017 U20 Africa Cup of Nations match against Cameroon on Monday.

The match is scheduled to take place at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola, Zambia, but Malepe will be serving a one-match suspension, following his second yellow card that he received in the qualifiers against Lesotho in June last year.

The South African U20 national team coach, Thabo Senong, believes that although Malepe is suspended for the opening match, he insists that Amajita are fully prepared and confident to take on Cameroon.

‘We are fully aware of Malepe’s suspension, and we have prepared accordingly. We have addressed this in our last few training sessions and believe that the players will not struggle in his absence,’ Senong told Safa.net.

‘We have obviously had to make some changes in defence – we have shifted players to fill up his position, but we are confident that our strategy will work against Cameroon, who we know are no pushovers.’

The Burger King-sponsored team will now be captained by vice-captain Teboho Mokoena, with Amajita goalkeeper Mondli Mpoto taking the role of vice-captain.

Amajita will now take on Cameroon in the Afcon Group B opener at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium on Monday.

Kick-off has been set for 18:00.

Image: Safa website