Make it or break it for Amajita

It's a must win for Amajita against Italy tomorrow. Amajita have put themselves under pressure after loosing their first game against Japan on Sunday. The South African under 20 team have been regarded as one of the favorites to lift the FIFA under 20 World Cup after their splendid performances during the AFCON earlier this year in Zambia loosing 1-0 to the host in the Semi-finals.

timeslive.co.za

The absence of the most talented player who is under 20 at the moment in South Africa is a big blow for Thabo Senong and the country as whole. Phakamani Mahlambi is not part of the 20 man squad that was chosen to compete for the FIFA under 20 World Cup. According to TimesLive, "Mshini" was withdrawn from the squad with the hamstring injury being replaced by Ajax Cape Town defender Sirgio Kammies.

SAFA said Mahlambi sustained his injury while training with his club. "As for the FIFA rules for the tournament, no player can be replaced from the squad without proof of an injury", SAFA's statement read. Bafana Bafana and SA under 20 team doctor Thulani Ngwenya revealed in the statement that Mahlambi's injury had been inspected and found to be "very significant".

sowetanlive.co.za

"Judging from the evidence revealed by the Ultrasound film that has been send by Mahlambi's club and has been forwarded to the FIFA Medical office, the player's injury is very significant and unfortunately it can't be managed before any of our World Cup games" Ngwenya said.

"Surgery would be  better option to enhance recovery however, he will still not be ready for this World Cup tournament and it is for this reason why he has been withdrawn"

Many believe that if Phakamani was part of the 20 man squad, Amajita would have won their opening game against Japan. Thabo Senong Amajita head coach said: "it is very unfortunate that Phakamani can't be with us, but we have to forge ahead. " This has also given us the chance to re-evaluate our squad, so we decided to call up Sirgio Kammies so as to add numbers to our defense because we feel that we have enough strength in attack".

iol.co.za

"Kimmies was part of the team's preparations prior to the the under 20 Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Zambia (in March) as well as the World Cup, so he knows the team and how we operate". The SA under 20 will face Italy tomorrow at 10:00 and will again face Uruguay on the 27th of May 2017 (Saturday) at 13:00.

Thabang Mahlo, a second year journalism student at Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) and football analyst said that the country needed Phakamani Mahlambi to stand a great chance of winning the tournament."We needed Phakamani Mahlambi to stand a great chance tournament, surely the spirit of the team is very down due to his injury, he was the main player for the team, we needed his creativity, you could see the way the boys were playing against Japan that if the young man was there we would have scored three or four goals".

Amajita will have to win their next two games against Italy on the 24th of May (Wednesday) and Uruguay on the 27th of May 2017 (Saturday) if they want to qualify for the next stage in the competition.

Phakamani Mahlambi YouTube link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfyIAjo9hrA