Cosafa
Khumalo: Going to Qatar is mission accomplished
South Africa Under-17 coach Vela Khumalo hailed their qualification for the 2025 World Cup as a “big achievement” after finishing runners-up in Group B at the ongoing 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
Amajimbos saw their unbeaten start to the tournament in Morocco come to an end on Sunday with a 2-0 defeat to Burkina Faso, who scored twice in the final 25 minutes to maintain their perfect record.
Khumalo’s side were staring at an early exit at one stage after Cameroon took the lead against Egypt in a concurrent match, but the Pharaohs ran out 2-1 victors in the end to ensure South Africa’s progress to the quarter-finals.
Khumalo insisted that reaching the global showpiece in Qatar was always the main goal, with the U17 team having only ever qualified once before, in 2015 when they bowed out at the group stages.
“Let me take this opportunity to thank every South African who rallied behind us. This is a great moment and a big achievement. Initially, I made it clear that, more than anything, we want to qualify for the World Cup, so it’s a mission accomplished,” he declared.
“A big challenge ahead of us, playing at the World Cup, the biggest stage you can ever imagine. I think we didn’t disappoint the South Africans… qualifying for the World Cup was the main thing.”
Amajimbos will now meet the host nation on April 10 and Khumalo wants to see a more direct approach from his players against the Atlas Lions, who also won their opening three matches.
“We need to be a little bit more aggressive and direct. We must strategise and plan thoroughly because we want to go to the next round as well,” he added.
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