South Africa vice-captain Patrick Autata says the team have prepared themselves mentally ahead of their 2025 Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) opener.

Amajita are set to square off with hosts, Egypt, in a Group A clash at the Cairo International Stadium in Cairo on Sunday and kick-off is at 20h00 South African Time.

Autata, who led Amajita to the 2024 COSAFA U-20 Cup triumph in Mozambique, revealed that they are looking forward to competing in the continental showpiece.

“We are all excited to be playing in this tournament,” Autata, who is on the books of Cape Town City, told SAFA media.

“We are also mentally prepared in terms of the hurdles and the challenges that we are going to be facing.

The hard-working midfielder made it known that Amajita are determined to win the tournament, which also serves as a qualifier for the 2025 FIFA U20 World Cup finals in Chile.

“We intend to overcome everything that comes our way, because we want to work hard to qualify for the World Cup,” the 20-year-old added.

“We want to work hard to even go further in the tournament and win it.”

South Africa, who are under the guidance of coach Raymond Mdaka, will also take on Tanzania (30 April) and Sierra Leone (6 May), before wrapping their group stage campaign with a match against Zambia (9 May).