South Africa’s U17 men’s national team, the Amajimbos, are aiming to build on their historic start at the FIFA U17 World Cup when they face hosts Qatar in their second Group A clash in Doha on Thursday evening.
After their spirited 3–1 victory over Bolivia in the opening fixture, coach Vela Khumalo says the team is determined to collect another three points — a result that would all but seal their place in the knockout rounds of the expanded 48-team tournament.
“We’re up against the hosts, and that always comes with pressure,” Khumalo admitted. “But we’ll do everything possible to calm the boys and focus on our game plan. Winning this match will take us through to the next round, which is our main objective.”
The Amajimbos made a statement in their opener despite being reduced to ten men, with goals from Emile Witbooi, Neo Bohloko and Shaun Els earning them a commanding win. Defender Luke Hendricks believes the team has learned from that experience and is ready for the challenge ahead.
“We stayed behind to watch Qatar play Italy and also studied the footage,” said Hendricks. “They’re a good team, but we’ve seen areas we can exploit. Winning this game is crucial because Italy are very strong, and we’d like to face them without any added pressure.”
South Africa will, however, be without suspended defender Sive Pama, who received a red card in the opening match.
Kick-off against Qatar is set for 17h45 South Africa time (18h45 local time) at the Aspire Zone Complex. In the other Group A encounter, Italy will meet Bolivia earlier in the day at 14h30 SA time.