South Africa: Mkhalele Names Cosafa 20-Man Squad

The tournament will run from 3 - 13 December in Port Elizabeth.

Mkhalele said he and his technical staff had a difficult time in deciding on the final 20-man squad, given the amount quality within the provisional squad.

The coach said he has utmost belief in the players he has selected and that they will achieve their goals.

Having reached last year's COSAFA Men's Under-20 Championship final in Zambia, Mkhalele stated that he would like to win the Championship this time around.

Reaching this year's final will also guarantee Amajita a spot in next year's U-20 AFCON tournament which will take place in Mauritania.

"I am very happy with the squad that we have assembled for this year's COSAFA tournament," Mkhalele said. "None of this would have been possible if it was not for the tremendous support we had received for various clubs in releasing their players for this camp. For that we are truly grateful as it enabled us with enough time to prepare and work with the players leading up to this crucial event.

"There are two things that we want to get out from this tournament," Mkhalele added. "And that is: we want to qualify for next year's U-20 AFCON tournament by reaching this year's COSAFA final and also win the COSAFA Championship."

Meanwhile, Mkhalele added that he was expecting tough encounters from all of their Group A opponents, adding that countries like Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Mozambique will come out guns blazing in their matches against them.

Amajita's first Group A match will be against Zimbabwe on 3 December at the Wolfson Stadium. They will then face Lesotho on the 6th before the end off their group fixtures against Mozambique on 8 December.

All of Amajita's Group A matches will kick-off at 15h30 at the very same match venue.

"Most of our neighbouring countries come highly motivated to push for a win when they play against us at any level of football competitions," Mkhalele said. "They just want to see themselves coming out with a win against us and we are very much aware of that. This tournament is not going to be any different. We are expecting a very difficult battle from our Group A opponents. However, we are also motivated to do well in this tournament. We have ticked all the boxes in our preparations and we are now looking forward for the battle that lies ahead."

South Africa's National Under-20 (Amajita) squad for the 2020 COSAFA Men's Under-20 Championship

NO:PLAYER'S NAMECLUB

Goalkeepers

1.Olwethu MZIMELAAmaZulu FC

2.Bontle MOLEFEKaizer Chiefs

Defenders

3.Nkosikhona RADEBEKZN Academy

4.Nelson RALENKOANEOrlando Pirates

5.Athenkosi MCABAUnattached

6.Mohlala MAKOLAMamelodi Sundowns

7.Bilal BALOYISuperSport United

8.Boikanyo SEGOTLONGOrlando Pirates

Midfielders

9.Rivaldo PRESENTUbuntu FC

10.Tshepo MYENIKaizer Chiefs

11.Ethan BROOKSTS Galaxy

12.Rowan HUMANMaccabi Tel Aviv

13.Jayden ADAMSStellenbosch FC

14.Oswin APPOLLISSuperSport United

15.Rahim MILAZIKaizer Chiefs

16.Leonardo ROIHighlands Park

Forwards

17.Sinenjongo MKIVASuperSport United

18.Keenan BEZUIDENHOUTSuperSport United

19.Lindokuhle ZUNGUAmaZulu

20.Keletso SIFAMAKaizer Chiefs

This article originally appeared on SAFA

Photo: COSAFA