Ntuthuko Maphumulo soccer
This year has not been kind to South African soccer, from losing the 2006 World Cup bid to the violence that marred Banyana Banyana’s loss to the Super Falcons of Nigeria in the final of the African Women’s Championship at Vosloorus.
Hopefully the South African under-20 team can break the hoodoo. They are competing in the Confederation of Southern African Football Associations (Cosafa) Under-20 Cup in Johannesburg to see which nation is champion of the Southern African Development Community region.
The senior version of this cup has eluded the Bafana Bafana team, who were denied a semifinal place by Zimbabwe in July this year.
The under-20 tournament consists of 12 teams instead of 13 due to Madagascar withdrawing from the tournament at the last moment due to financial problems.
The South African under-20 team lifted the spirits of the fans in the quarterfinals, beating Namibia 2-0 with goals from Gareth Divine and Seuntjie Motlhajwa. They were impressive in the field and the fans cheered them all the way after a disappointing draw with Angola and a 1-0 victory over Botswana.
South African coach Augusto Palacios says: “This tournament is being used as preparation for the youth championships next year in Ethiopia. The boys play as a team and are not big-headed.” Even though the South African team did not have the services of stars Steven Pienaar and Benedict Vilakazi, it showed that there is depth among the country’s youngsters.
Defending champions Zambia showed their class by beating Seychelles 3-0 in their opening game, but were knocked out in the quarterfinals 2-0 by Angola.
Angolan coach Oliveira Goncalves said: “The team went into the field to win and we are happy to have beaten the champions.”
The teams to be knocked out of the tournament in the first round were Seychelles, Botswana, Swaziland and Mauritius. The quarterfinals saw Lesotho and Mozambique join Zambia and Namibia on their way home.
The teams who win Friday’s semifinals at Rand stadium will proceed to contest the final at Milpark stadium on Sunday where one will be declared champion of the Southern African region.
All matches at both stadiums are free.