Amajita of South Africa U-20 head coach Raymond Mdaka has said players of Nigeria’s Flying Eagles teased his players, calling them “junior brothers”.
Mdaka said Amajita shared a hotel with the Nigerian team in Ismailia and the banter started between the Flying Eagles players and the South Africans before they were pitted against each other in the semi-finals.
Both teams, will square off in the semi-finals on Thursday after securing their place at this year’s FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile.
The Flying Eagles edged out champions Senegal 3-1 on penalties after regulation and extra-time finished 0-0.
South Africa also made it through after defeating Democratic Republic of Congo 1-0 after extra-time.
Substitute SuperSport United striker Thabang Mahlangu scored the winner four minutes into added time of the first half of extra-time.
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Speaking after his team’s progress to the last four Mdaka, quoted by Times Live, said:“In all our games we play to win and we will continue with that mentality against Nigeria. Yes, we’ve achieved the bigger goal, but we can’t let Nigeria walk all over us.
“We are staying at the same hotel and already they’re saying we’re their junior brothers, so you know it will be a tough game, especially with the rivalry.”
Mdaka expressed happiness over his Amajita’s World Cup qualification, saying it was the high point of his career.
“I’ve achieved some special things as a coach. I took Marumo Gallants to the Confederation Cup semifinals [where they lost to Yanga of Tanzania in 2023] and I won the Cosafa Cup with this team [in October].
“But I regard taking this team to the World Cup as the highest feat of my coaching career. Qualifying a team for the World Cup is the biggest thing in football.
“It wasn’t an easy route, especially because we were in a group of five teams, which means we had to play four matches and we passed that test by qualifying for the quarterfinals. And when we got there we knew we were one step away from going to the World Cup, so the boys gave their all — and here we are.”
2 Comments
“….I’ve achieved some special things as a coach. I took Marumo Gallants to the Confederation Cup semifinals [where they lost to Yanga of Tanzania in 2023]…”
The ease and regularity with which South African coaches are making a statement on the continent of recent is something Nigerian coaches, especially the lazy ex-internationals, need to study.
Nah they wouldn’t instead they’ll just apply for the next-tournament-punditry gig