Pretoria – The South African under-23 squad, Amaglug-glug, are back in camp to prepare for their first leg clash of the All Africa Games qualifier against Zimbabwe on Saturday.
This comes after they were granted a two-day break following their 5-1 win over Benin in the Olympic Games qualifier last Sunday at the Rand Stadium.
Saturday’s match against neighbouring Zimbabwe at the Sinaba Stadium in Daveyton will kick-off at 3pm.
The Shakes Mashaba-led side is in the last round of qualifiers of the 10th All Africa Games to be staged in Mozambique from 3-18 September later this year.
The qualifiers started with seven zones. One team from each zone will join hosts Mozambique for the final tournament.
In Zone I, there is Egypt and Libya; Zone II: Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mali and Senegal, Zone III: Benin, Ghana, Liberia and Nigeria; Zone IV: Cameroon, Congo RD and Gabon.
Zone V comprises Eritrea, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania; Zone VI: Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Zone VII: Madagascar and Seychelles.
In the preliminary round, South Africa registered an emphatic 4-1 win over Angola in the first leg in February.
The match was played at the Cidadela Stadium in Angola. Themba Zwane grabbed a brace, while Masibusane Zongo and Riaan Eugene scored the other two. The visitors led 2-1 at half time.
Two weeks later, South Africa defeated Angola 2-1 at the Sinaba Stadium in Daveyton, with striker Phumelele Ace Bhengu scoring in each half for a 6-2 aggregate victory.
It was mixed results in the first round when South Africa won the first leg by 4-1 against Malawi at the Moruleng Stadium in North West in April.
Malawi led 1-0 at the break, but Bongani Ndulula stole the show, banging in all the four goals in the second stanza.
In the return leg a fortnight later, Malawi turned the tables to register a 2-1 victory at the Civo Stadium in Lilongwe, but South Africa moved to the next round with a 5-3 aggregate win.
Saturday’s match is the final round for South Africa. Tickets for the match will be available on a first come-first served basis from Thursday starting at 2pm.
Amaglug-glug supporters can get the tickets at the South African Football Association (Safa) house in Nasrec, outside Soweto, Gary Moloi Library in Etwatwa in Daveyton and at the Ekurhuleni Customer Care Centre opposite Daveyton Mall. – BuaNews
