South Africa national Under 20 coach Vela Khumalo has pleaded for continuity in the country’s youth teams despite the COSAFA disappointment.
Amajita were knocked out in the semi-final by defending champions Mozambique on Friday.
They were edged 2-1 by Mozambique, a development that means they miss out on the continental finals in Egypt that will take place early next year.
It also means they will have no place at Indonesia’s 2023 FIFA Under 20 World Cup.
Nonetheless, Khumalo believes there are plenty of positives to be drawn and suggests the team must be kept as a unit.
Amajita could only finish third after beating Angola 4-2 in the dreaded penalty shootout.
“The very same team we have here. I’d love to see it going to the Olympics one day,” he said shortly after the third-place playoff.
“It’s very important that we have tournaments of this nature, even country-to-country games, so that when we get to tournaments like this, we are more than ready and well-prepared to play stages like this.”
He added that in his team, there were players who had never tasted international action. Khumalo is convinced that exposure at that level is important for youngsters’ development.
“It is where we need to go back and say, can we start preparing thoroughly from the word go. Let’s have programmes that speak to that, that says we introduce our players at a young age,” Khumalo added.
Angola had two red cards in the game, but Amajita struggled to take advantage. They fluffed several scoring chances, and the match ended goalless in regulation time. It was decided after the penalty shootout.
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