SA U-20 aim to spoil Cameroun AFCON party
Published On February 27, 2017 » 1780 Views» By Davies M.M Chanda » Football, Sports
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. Senong

. Senong

By NDINAWE SIMPELWE –
ACTION in Group B of the Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) gets underway today at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium with 2015 finalists Senegal facing Sudan while South Africa takes on Cameroon.
The first match kicks off at 15:00hours while the second game will start at 18:00hrs, both will be live on SuperSport.
Cameroun v South Africa
South Africa coach Thabo Senong believes his side will start as underdogs against Cameroon which will give them an advantage.
Senong said history was on his team’s side as South Africa has triumphed in recent meetings between the two.
He, however, said having failed to progress passed the group stage at the 2015 tournament he was eager to perform better in Zambia.
“We had a very good qualifying campaign where we didn’t concede a goal. We also played some good friendly matches against Mali and Zambia, so we are more than ready. All the teams are tough and it is good that we are going into the match as underdogs,” Senong said.
He further said his team will be wary of the aerial threat that West African countries are known for.
His opposite Ashu Cyprian Besong said his side was encouraged by the senior team’s winning of the Africa Cup in Gabon.
Besong said tournament would not be easy because it pits the best teams on the continent.
He said winning the first game would be crucial adding that his philosophy and the quality he has in the team would produce some of the best football never seen on the continent.
Senegal v Sudan
In the early kickoff, both Senegal and Sudan have set semi a final place as their primary target at the tournament.
Senegal is under the microscope in this group after their recent achievement in the last Africa Cup and World Cup tournaments.
Senegal lost in the final to Nigeria at home in the 2015 AFCON finals before Brazil eliminated them at the semi final stage of the World Cup.
Coach Joseph Koto said his team has to put the disappointments of two years ago behind and concentrate on the task at hand.
He said he would respect Sudan but at the same he needed the three points to set the tone for the tournament.
“We are very determined to go a step further this year. Last time we came out second. We are very ready for this match and we will respect all the teams in the group but we have a good squad to see us through to the next round,” Koto said.
Meanwhile, Sudan coach Mubarak  Salman says his team’s return to the tournament after a 16 year absence was motivation enough to perform better.
Sudan’s only appearance was back in 1991 where the team failed to pick any points.
Salman said the group was a tough one and the team would have to be at its best to progress to the semi final.
He said the target was to qualify to the world cup despite facing tough opponents.
“We had very good preparations before the tournament. We played some tough teams and we are good to go. It’s been long since we qualified to the tournament so we want to make history by lifting the cup,” Salman said.

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