Anxious wait for Amajimbos as their U17 Afcon quarterfinal chance hangs by thread

There is an anxious wait for Amajimbos as they hope for a complicated scenario of results to go their way for them to proceed to the U17 African Cup of Nations (Afcon) knockouts.  

The South Africans made things difficult for themselves when they allowed Nigeria to come from behind twice to beat them 3-2 in the sides’ last Group B clash at the Stade Chahid Hamlaoui in Algeria on Saturday.  

Amajimbos are desperate to proceed to the quarterfinals of the tournament to keep their hopes of qualifying for the 2023 U17 Fifa World Cup alive.  

SA could still proceed as one of the two best third-placed teams out of the three groups.   

But it’s no longer in their hands as it all depends on the outcome of the Group C clash between Burkina Faso and Cameroon at Mohamed Hamlaoui Stadium on Sunday (9pm, SA time).  

With Sudan disqualified, leaving Group C with only three teams, it made things a bit complicated as results against the last-placed teams in other pools don’t count when it comes to the ranking of third-placed teams.  

SA’s only win in the group stages came against the fourth-placed Zambia and they lost to Morocco and Nigeria.  

Amajimbos are ranked third with zero points next to their name when it comes to the ranking of third-placed teams, where only two will proceed to the next round. Congo has already snatched the other spot.  

Both Cameroon and Burkina Faso have zero points and a draw between them will rule out the South Africans, who have a minus three goal difference.  

Cameroon has a minus two goal difference, while Burkina Faso has a minus one.  

Amajimbos coach Duncan Crowie said they will be watching with bated breath, the mentor also revealed that he is proud of his boys’ performance against Nigeria despite the loss.  

“We will see how it goes and we will definitely be watching. It is what it is, we have got to be sportspersons and congratulations to whoever goes through,” Crowie said.  

“I knew all along it was going to be a tough game (against Nigeria) and it proved to be a tough game for us.  

“I’m happy that we scored the two goals, and I told the players that I don’t think we’ve disgraced ourselves, Nigeria is a very good team. They played very well, and they showed it in this game, but the (SA) boys gave everything they had, and I can be grateful as far as that is concerned.  

“I’m not happy with the result but happy with the performance that the players showed.”

All four semi-finalists will qualify for the World Cup. The last time Amajimbos made the World Cup was in 2015 under Molefi Ntseki.