TotalEnergies U17 AFCON: Crowie proud of his players despite Nigeria loss

South Africa coach Duncan Crowie says he is proud of his players and the fight they showed, despite losing 3-2 to Nigeria in their second Group B match at the TotalEnergies U17 Africa Cup of Nations, and their chances of progression now hanging in the balance.

South Africa must now wait for the result between Cameroon and Burkina Faso on Sunday to know whether they can make it into the last eight as one of two best third placed teams.

A win against Nigeria would have automatically seen them qualify while a draw would have enhanced their chances.

“I told them in the dressing room that we didn’t disgrace ourselves and Nigeria is a very good team. It showed in the field that we gave everything we could and I can only be grateful. Of course I am not happy with the result, but I am happy with their performance,” Crowie said.

“I looked at the players in the dressing room and they were all disappointed. That is a sign that they care otherwise I would have been worried if they were not disappointed. They can hold their heads high because they gave everything and we tried to play beautiful football,” the tactician added.

Whichever the outcome of Sunday’s decider in Annaba, Crowie says he still remains proud of his players and the outing they had in Algeria.

“It is what it is. I will be watching of course and hopefully the result goes our way. It is a difficult and complicated situation but that’s how football is sometimes,” Crowie further pointed out.

The coach also says he is impressed with the development of his players over these last three matches, saying top of all that was the biggest essence of the competition.

He hopes they can use the experience to further grow their careers and be mainstays for the rest of the national teams.

At the same time, he has disclosed that the presence of former South African skipper Aaron Mokoena as his assistant coach has been a massive hit with the players as he has got an opportunity to share first hand experiences and lessons with them.

“It has been fantastic having Aaron in the team. He is the most capped Bafana Bafana player and we needed that kind of experience on the bench and it is important for him to relay his experiences and the lessons to these young kids for their development,” Crowie explained.