By SANDRA MWILA –
SOUTH Africa coach Thabo Senong anticipates a tough match against Zambia when the two Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) contenders clash in a friendly match today at Nkoloma Stadium.
While this might be taken as a friendly match on paper, a lot is at stake for these two regional nemeses who will be out to protect their pride as Zambia will be seeking to continue its dominance over the Amajita.
The last time these two sides clashed was during the COSAFA final in December last year with Zambia winning 2-1.
Senong said he anticipates a tough clash but is confident it will be a fruitful exercise.
“We are still in our second phase of preparations for the AFCON, which starts soon, and we still have some areas to work on. We are very grateful for the opportunity to play this friendly as it will assist us a lot in building our tactics, along with ensuring that the players have an idea of some of the conditions they will be exposed to,” Senong told SuperSport.com.
Another key factor the South Africans are focusing on is the fitness – which is always crucial in tournament situations.
“We still have about two weeks before the tournament kicks off, and we are working on ensuring that the players are all on the same level of fitness and understanding the game plans we will have for Cameroon, Senegal and Sudan,” Senong added.
Zambia is in Group A along with Egypt, Guinea and Mali and will be based in Lusaka while South Africa has Cameroon, Sudan and Senegal and will be based in Ndola for the tournament that starts on February 26 to March 4.
“The players will have to be very clinical in their set plays, come Sunday afternoon. They will also have to respect the critical times of the game and be able to match the Zambians physically and mentally,” he said.
Having played a series of preparatory matches against clubs, coach Beston Chambeshi finally has a match against a team that is also preparing for the AFCON and might both use full strength squads as pride is also at stake.
“The game against South Africa will give us a good test of where we are in terms of preparedness for the tournament, we are looking forward to the game so that we can see how we fair against a fellow AFCON title contender,” he said.
Chambeshi said he would try and give the players time out on the pitch as he continues to assess them before naming a final squad.
Fresh from a two-week training camp in Spain, fans will be anxious to see what the team that beat Tenerife and Basel with identical 1-0 wins before losing 3-1 to Barcelona youth side, can do this afternoon.
Chambeshi will still have to do without the services of striker Patson Daka, who is still with his new club in Austria, and might also give rests to striker Fashion Sakala and midfielder Boyd Musonda, who featured for Zanaco in the Champions League yesterday.
The South Africans will travel to Polokwane, Limpopo to face Mali, who are in Zambia’s group, in their second international friendly match.