Latest news with #AfricaYouthChampionships
IOL News
18-05-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Ashley Makhanya reflects on SA's 1997 Afcon U20 final as Amajita gear up for Morocco title decider
Tylon Smith Defender Tylon Smith (No 14) scored the winning goal for Amajita against Nigeria. Photo: BackpagePix Image: BackpagePix Ashley Makhanya has relived the hostility the South African Under-20 team endured at the Africa Youth Championships final in 1997 ahead of this year's showdown. Amajita will face Morocco in the youth Afcon final at Cairo International Stadium in Egypt on Sunday night (8pm kick-off). The two teams have already qualified for the Under-20 Fifa World Cup finals, which will take place in September, having qualified for the semi-finals. The Egyptians know all about winning the Afcon, as they have four crowns and lead Nigeria with three. But with Amajita having beaten Nigeria in the semi-finals this week, courtesy of Tylon Smith's goal, they'll want to go all the way and surpass the Class of '97. Makhanya, now 47, was part of the last Amajita team that reached the Afcon final 28 years ago, when they lost 1-0 to Morocco, who were the hosts as well. 'Two days before the game, even from the hotel as you tried to walk to the kitchen, everyone now was on top of us,' reflected Makhanya during an exclusive interview with Independent Media. 'Everyone kept saying, 'You are going to lose'. The chef and drivers who were nice to us – everyone changed. We tried to walk out, and it was terrible. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ 'On the day of the final, it was even worse – from the hotel to the stadium, the country was red. People were shouting at us and beating our bus. 'It was so full that people were on top of buildings. It was hostile. The police had to work overtime. These people felt like they wanted to grab us. You could see from their faces. 'Others were laying down their mats, and praying outside. There was a lot of noise. 'It was just a hostile environment. It was something that we had never faced before.' Ashley Makhanya Ashley Makhanya. Photo: BackpagePix Image: BackpagePix But despite the hostility on match-day, coach Shakes Mashaba and his assistant Thabo Dladla were not fazed. As such, Dladla offered his troops some motivation before the game in order to make sure that they played according to its demands, not the occasion. 'That's what Coach Thabo Dladla, the assistant coach, said to Coach Shakes: here, we need strong minds,' Makhanya recalled. 'He said we needed to remember who we are and how we got here. We needed to fear nothing. We are South Africans. We come from a past that faced hostility.' Makhanya and his teammates might have etched their names in the history books, but the former left back has lauded the set-up of the current group. According to the former Wits player, coach Raymond Mdaka's troops have worked hard to be where they are today, given all the challenges they've been facing. Back in 1997, they had everything at their disposal as they even played Italy on home soil and had Benni McCarthy, who was firing in goals from all angles. The suspension of McCarthy in the final came back to haunt them, and that's why Makhanya has lauded the depth at Mdaka's disposal, given that there have been different scorers too. 'We were naive, but very confident. We had good leadership in Coach Shakes Mashaba,' Makhanya added. 'In terms of talent, this country has never been short. We won our semi-final against Ghana on penalties, and they won outright. So, they are better than us. 'They are a balanced team, and have more options than us. Our threat was Benni up front. So, when he was not there in the final, it showed.'
The Star
23-04-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Mdaka backs Amajita to compete without Mbokazi at Afcon
Raymond Mdaka is disappointed that he'll be without one of his talismans for the upcoming Africa Youth Championships, but he says the show must go on. Coach Mdaka will guide his SA U20 men's national team - Amajita - in the youth Afcon which is scheduled to kick-off in Egypt on Sunday. Amajita have to be at their best in north Africa as the event will also serve as a qualification for the U20 World Cup which will be hosted in Chile later this year. But before they can dream about qualifying for the global showpiece for the first time since 2019 under coach Thabo Senong, they need to do well in the group stages in the land of pharoahs. Amajita are in Group A alongside hosts Egypt, Cosafa neighbours Zambia, west Africans Sierra Leone and east Africans Tanzania. Their group stage campaign won't be easy as each team will play an extra game in the group due to the rescheduling of the tournament from Ivory Coast to Egypt recently. Add that to the fact that Amajita will also be without centre-back Mbekezeli Mbokazi who was not released by Orlando Pirates due to club commitments. Mbokazi is an integral part of the Pirates team, and with the side chasing for the Betway Premiership, CAF Champions League and Nedbank Cup titles, his contribution will be key. Mdaka, speaking to the media after Amajita's last warmup match in Bedfordview before flying out to Egypt on Wednesday, opened up about missing out on Mbokazi. 'I need to be very honest with you - the boy was key in terms of our defence,' Mdaka explained. 'As a coach, if he's a player that you've been with since the beginning of the first camp when I took over (then it's a major blow). 'Players tend to understand each other - how they play and all these other things - so, honestly, he was one of the key players in our defence.' Mdaka is not crying over spilt milk, though. He believes the return of Siviwe Nkwali and availability of Thato Sibiya will reinforce his defence. And that's not all. First team players such as Mfundo Vilakazi of Kaizer Chiefs and Kutlwano Letlhaku of Mamelodi Sundowns have been released by their respective clubs. Captain Asekho Tiwani will also remain in Egypt after Mamelodi Sundowns play their Champions League semi-final second leg clash against Al Ahly on Friday. Mdaka, though, is also drawing inspiration from the fact that the PSL reserve team - the DStv Diski Challenge - has been in full swing as most of his players will have match-fitness. 'Let's agree that it's going to be tough, but the core of the players play week in and week out in the DDC,' Mdaka explained. 'So even the test that we did, the physical test, said we should be okay. It can only be the number (of games) - due to injuries and such - that can affect us.' Mdaka would have loved to ensure that his troops are in tip-top form for Afcon, and that's why they had planned their last friendly at the hosting country. But after the changes at the 11th hour, including rescheduling the event for Egypt instead of Ivory Coast, Mdaka says they had to cancel some of their plans as well. 'Earlier on, we had prepared for that. It was something that we would have loved to have, but no, as a coach you must always know you are on your toes,' Mdaka said. 'The technical team and the boys know that once things change, you really and immediately adjust. 'In the initial preparation, we were to play Congo, but they also had to change because the changes affected them as the tournament was rescheduled.'
