South Africa coach Thabo Senong has named a revised squad for the 2016 COSAFA Under-20 Championships, sponsored by PPC, that will be staged from December 7-16.
It follows a handsome 3-1 victory for the side over their Kenyan counterparts in an international friendly match played in Johannesburg on Saturday.
‘Amajita’ started their pre-tournament training camp in Rustenburg on Monday, with Senong set to trim his squad this coming Sunday with six players to be released ahead of the prestigious regional championship.
“I have always said due to the unavailability of the regular players for the Kenya match, it was a good chance for those who were selected to stake their claim in the final COSAFA Cup squad,” Senong said.
“I was impressed by some players, hence we have kept them to get an even closer look before we trim the squad down. What the Kenya game indicated to us is that we have a very big and good pool of players.
“Most of them in that squad didn’t have experience but they played very well against a very strong and matured side.
“I am also happy that we have the other players back in the team. We are now entering our final week of preparations, so it pleases me that we have the players that we will use in the tournament.
“While we won against Kenya, there are still some areas of concern and we will use this final camp before the start of the tournament to work on those aspects we are not happy about.”
South Africa have been drawn in Group A at the tournament where they will face neighbours Lesotho, Botswana and Swaziland for a place in the semifinals.
Provisional South Africa squad:
Goalkeepers: Sanele Tshabalala, Darren Johnson, Kopano Thuntsane.
Defenders: Reeve Frosler, Thendo Mukumela, Tercious Malepe, Givemore Khupe, Aghmat Ceres, Kananelo Motsoeneng, Bonolo Seeco, Kabelo Seriba, Mokgapedi Lesiane.
Midfielders: Wisemen Meyiwa, Nkosingiphile Ngcobo, Sibongakonke Mbatha, Kobamelo Kodisang, Luther Singh, Sydney Mtshweni, Sphumelele Mbulu, Sipho Mbule, Lehlohonolo Radebe, Keletso Makgalwa, Katlego Ntshabeleng, Sifundo Sibiya.
Strikers: Menzi Ndwandwe, Itumeleng Shopang
