Coach of the South African Men’s Under 17 National Team, Amajimbos, Molefi Ntseki faces a selection challenge as he decides which five players to leave out for the trip to Tanzania.
Ntseki will travel with 18 players to Tanzania for their 2015 African Youth Championship qualifier in Dar es Salaam but first he must decide which five players to leave out.
The Amajimbos head coach and his technical team have been running the rule over the players starting with the two matches played in Botswana and they will continue to do the same in the remaining two clashes against Lesotho.
The first of those will be played this afternoon (Thursday, 10 July) in Mafeteng, just outside the capital Maseru. The second will be played on Sunday, 13 July in Maseru after which Ntseki will announce the travelling party out of the current 23 players in camp.
“The reality is that everybody is doing their best, trying to impress to make the final 18 that we will take to Tanzania. We want them to understand the pressure of what we will be facing in Tanzania. As we speak none of them can confirm their selection in the squad and the two matches against Lesotho will further assist us in our selection,” said Ntseki.
“We want a situation where when we go to Tanzania we have a starting eleven and players that will come in to help. But the most important thing for now is to give them game time and to see which player fits into which system. Also, they should also be able to understand each other so they can play as a team.”
The squad increased to 23 following the arrival of Athenkosi Dlala who, due to a family bereavement, was released from camp shortly before Amajimbos travelled to Botswana.
“The good thing about Athenkosi is that he was part of us during the selection phase at the start of this camp. We are happy he is able to join us now so we can give him some playing time to see if he could be part of the travelling team to Tanzania – we want to give him a fair chance with the remaining two games against Lesotho. We needed a further assessment of him so that he understands the demands, and what is expected of him should he make the cut ahead of other players who have been in camp,” added Ntseki.
The South Africans depart for Tanzania on Tuesday, 15 July. The match will take place on Friday, 18 July 2014. Kickoff is at 16h00 local time in Tanzania (3pm SA time).
