How Raymond Mdaka is preparing Amajita for COSAFA U20 final

Having guided Amajita to the CAF 2025 U20 AFCON tournament for the first time in five years, coach Raymond Mdaka has revealed how he is preparing his boys for their COSAFA U20 Championships final against Zambia on Saturday.

Amajita will face Zambia in Saturday’s final, with the kick-off set for 14:00. The SA U20 side defeated Angola 1-0 in the semi-finals in Matola, Mozambique, on Thursday to cruise into the final of the Championships.

Amajita dominated the Group stage U20 Best XI for the COSAFA U20 Championships Qualifiers, with the former Marumo Gallants mentor, Mdaka, selected as the best coach after a 100% winning record.

Interestingly, the SA U20 team haven’t conceded a goal in the tournament and scored an impressive 14 goals.

WHAT RAYMOND MDAKA SAID AHEAD OF THE FINAL AGAINST ZAMBIA

Mdaka stated that he expects his boys not to undermine Zambia, despite their 100% win record in the tournament. He went on to note that they don’t want to put the boys under too much pressure, but there are a lot of expectations.

“We don’t want to put high expectations on them and put them under pressure. I think they are doing well,” Mdaka told FARPost.

“The only important thing for us [throughout the tournament] was to take one game at a time. When we are done with this match, we will focus on playing the next match and getting positive results.

“So, you cannot, in this kind of tournament, undermine other competitors, especially at this level, because it’s necessary for them to be in the final.”

Mdaka continued: “Zambia is a good team. We saw them, but not in a way of spying on them. The way they played yesterday, you could see it’s an organised team; it’s a structured team. They’re very positive, and they have aggression. It’s a competitive team.”

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