TotalEnergies U17 AFCON: South Africa eye ‘revenge’ against Zambia
South Africa lost twice to Zambia during the COSAFA regional qualifiers last year, and now, the young Bafana Bafana have their eyes set on landing revenge when the two sides clash again on Wednesday at the TotalEnergies U17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Constantine
The two sides were drawn in the same group for the tournament, and they meet with a place in the quarter finals at stake. Both sides lost their opening match of the tournament, South Africa going down 2-0 to Morocco while Zambia were 1-0 losers at the hands of Nigeria.
South Africa defender Waylon Renecke says the players are determined to avenge against the Zambians.
“It is tough that we lost both games against them in the COSAFA tournament and we are looking to get revenge and bounce back from Sunday’s defeat too. We are ready and confident for the game,” Renecke, who plays at English club Norwich City’s Academy stated.
Head coach Duncan Crowie also has memories of those twin losses against Zambia, and he says his side will approach the game with a different set up to get a win.
“We know exactly what Zambia is all about and even if they have different personnel, the coach is the same and most likely the tactics will be the same. We have an idea of what they are about and that’s a plus for us, having played twice against them recently,” the coach said.
He added; “We will definitely try not to lose against them for a third time, but it will be a very difficult game.”
The tactician further says they expect an open game, as both teams are attack minded. Crowie notes that they have worked on their weak areas, especially offensively, to ensure they produce a better game than their loss against Morocco.
“We showed the players on video all the good things they did and we have brought the belief back into the team. Their faces are totally different now and there is a lot of optimism. We conceded soft goals against Morocco and definitely these are things we would rarely see again,”
“Offensively of course we can do better because we created so many chances but we were not calm before goal,” the tactician stated.
Both sides need to win to keep their hopes of making the last eight alive.
The game kicks off at 20h00 local time.