Rulani Mokwena steps in to support Amajimbos in Morocco

SA U17 team head coach Vela Khumalo has revealed to SABC Sport that Mokwena not only organised a friendly for the team ahead of their tournament opener against Egypt next Monday, but also came to watch them play in Casablanca last night. 

Khumalo says the former Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates mentor and his Morocco-based South African counterparts’ support has motivated the boys for the AFCON.

"We have our own Rulani and his technical team who organised a friendly for us while we were still in South Africa, so we played last night," Khumalo told SABC Sport.

"I was delighted to see even our players, Cassius [Mailula], [Thembinkosi] Lorch, they were all there to support us, they came together and we had good times together – they even promised to come and watch us on Monday."

Khumalo says Mokwena organised for them to play against the Wydad U19 team, against whom they lost 3-2, but they are satisfied with the showing against older opposition as they now turn their focus to the Egyptians on Monday.

"We played the Wydad U19 purposely because we wanted a better and bigger group of boys for a good challenge [to mirror] the magnitude of the tournament," he added.

"So all is well, so far so good, it's just the times here are very awkward – we played at 21:00 last night, and from what I've seen from the boys, we stand a very good chance of going through this tournament.

"Because, if I look at how we played and the three goals we conceded against mature, big boys like that, and we scored two, but we created so many chances.

"One would then say it was a good friendly and we looked really, really good, I'm optimistic and confident that whichever team will come [in our path], we'll definitely have to mesmerise them and go through [to the knockout stage] – I'm saying that in confidence."

The top two from each of the four groups will qualify automatically for the FIFA U17 World Cup to be hosted in Qatar in Novemver this year, while the third placed teams will engage in a four-team play-off before the winners will also clinch their tickets to the global showpiece.

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