Amajimbos coach Vela Khumalo has given his candid assessment of his side’s squad depth ahead of the 2025 FIFA Under-17 World Cup, set to be staged in Qatar.
This prestigious tournament is scheduled to start from 3–27 November 2025. South Africa are pitted in Group A with the hosts Qatar, Italy, and Bolivia.
Amajimbos’ preparations started late, with SAFA CEO Lydia Monyepao citing a lack of funding as a major factor, which led to the late announcement of the squad.
Khumalo’s charges have been in camp in Johannesburg for a couple of days. Amajimbos had an opportunity to play a friendly game against Malawi away from home this past Sunday and the Kaizer Chiefs DStv Diski Challenge on Wednesday, 29 October.
Amajimbos are set to jet off to Qatar on Thursday, 30 October, after wrapping up their preparations at home on Wednesday afternoon.
VELA KHUMALO’S TAKE ON AMAJIMBOS’ SQUAD
Khumalo mentioned that he cannot get overly excited since they performed well in their friendly games, and there are areas they still need to improve.
“Even though we played very, very well against Kaizer Chiefs, a strong DDC team that is going to Manchester, we cannot get carried away because we played well here. There are certain things that we still need to work on,” said Khumalo.
Meanwhile, Khumalo is confident that his side will be able to progress to the knockout stage, considering the nations they are drawn with.
“I think from what I saw, and I have been following Bolivia and the other teams, I think we stand a good chance of coming out of the group if we can apply ourselves,” he added.
“But you never know if that was the true reflection of the teams or they were still preparing. But honestly speaking, we stand a good chance of going out of the group.”
Khumalo announced his final squad on Wednesday, 29 October, and expressed his excitement about the personnel he had selected.
THE AMAJIMBOS FINAL SQUAD
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