SA U-17 coach Duncan Crowie targets World Cup qualification at junior Afcon

South Africa U-17 coach Duncan Crowie is targeting a top four finish at the 2023 Caf U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Algeria. 

The top four teams at the tournament that runs from April 29 to May 19 will qualify for the Fifa U-17 World Cup in November and December at a venue to be confirmed after Peru was stripped of hosting rights for failing to fulfil infrastructure commitments. 

“For the Afcon, the most important thing is to reach the semifinals, because those four teams will qualify for the World Cup,” Crowie said in a press conference at Safa House in Nasrec, Johannesburg, on Tuesday to announce his 21-man squad for the tournament. 

“Everybody comes to this tournament to win it and that is our objective. It is a development tournament, but as soccer people say, the ball is round and you don’t know where it is going to go. 

“I cannot promise anything, but we will play beautiful and positive football [that is] about creating opportunities and creating opportunities is about scoring goals. 

“If we can do that regularly, we will win more than we lose.” 

Crowie said he is impressed with the work rate of the players in his training camp who made it difficult for him to select his final squad. 

“When we met on Sunday we could see commonality between the overseas-based players and the local-based players, and that gave me hope in selecting this team,” he said. 

“No-one in the preparation camp was a bad player. Everyone was a talented player, but unfortunately we had to select only 21. This is not my party as the coach, this is the party of the 21 players who are selected.  

“It’s all about them and it is beyond the technical team. They are the ones who will represent the country.

“So far I am happy with the preparations and I hope we can continue in the same vein to the tournament.” 

Safa president  Danny Jordaan wished the team well in Algeria. 

“We believe this team can go all the way to the World Cup and join the team on the wall here at Safa House, which was the last team to qualify for the World Cup [in 2015],” he said.  

“We wish the technical team all the best. African Ur-17 teams seem to dominate at the World Cup. So we know that by looking at that picture it will be a challenge, but the team will be up to the task.” 

The team departs for Algeria on Friday. 

South Africa U-17 squad

Goalkeepers: Takalani Mazhamba (Chiefs), Gennaro Johnson (Cape Town Spurs), Kyle Jansen (Atlanta United)

Defenders: Xhosa Manyama (Cape Town City), Keitumetse Lesia (SuperSport United), Waylon Renecke (Norwich City), Benjamin Wallace (SuperSport United), Vincent Sithole (Mamelodi Sundowns), Tyler Cicero (Stellenbosch), Thato Sibiya (Mamelodi Sundowns)

Midfielders: Xolani Tshaka  (Orlando Pirates), Gomolemo Kekana (TS Galaxy), Vicky Mkhawana (Kaizer Chiefs), Xavier Jodamus (Ubuntu Academy), Dhakier Lee (Cape Town Spurs)

Forwards: Luke Baartman (Cape Town Spurs), Michael Dokunmu (Vittese), Orifha Maubelo (Capital City), Bennet Mokoena (Mamelodi Sundowns), Gabriel Amato (Capital City), Siyabonga Mabena (Mamelodi Sundowns)