Amajita head coach Thabo Senong believes his side will go on to the field as underdogs when they face hosts Zambia in the first semi-final of the CAF U20 Africa Cup of Nations in Lusaka on Wednesday.
Kick-off at the National Heroes Stadium is at 18:00 and the much-anticipated clash will be live on SuperSport 9.
This will be the third outing between the two nations in the past four months, and Amajita will be looking to reverse the results after Junior Chipolopolo won the last two encounters.
‘This will be an exciting match, as both the COSAFA region countries will be fighting for a place in the final of the CAF u20 AFCON,’ said Senong. ‘Zambia beat us in the COSAFA Cup final, and again in the international friendly match that we played before the start of this tournament – but those matches will count for nothing, as they are all in the past.
‘I believe it’s going to be one entertaining clash and the team that wants it more will come out victorious,’ he said.
‘We also love the fact that no one is giving us a chance, therefore we are the underdogs and we go into the match without any pressure. Things will be different though for Zambia – as hosts, there is no doubt that they will be under immense pressure to continue doing well.
‘They’ve won all their matches in the tournament so far and their fans will be out in numbers to show support, and will expect positive results.
‘We did well against Sudan and it would be great to continue from where we left off, and also we would love to see ourselves in the final, so we will fight hard to reach our goal.’
Senegal lock horns with Guinea in the other semi-final on Thursday.
The final will be played on Sunday at Heroes National Stadium at 5.30pm SA time with a third/fourth place playoff match at the same venue earlier (2pm).