Head Coach of the South African U20 Men’s National team, Raymond Mdaka, has named the final 23-man squad to take part in the CAF U20 Africa Cup of Nations COSAFA qualifiers scheduled to be held in Mozambique from 18-27 September.
Amajita have been in camp in Johannesburg since Tuesday, 8 September 2026 with Mdaka running the rule over the 31 players called up in the preliminary squad. The South Africans depart for Mozambique on Thursday (17 September) minus the Cape Town City duo of Emille Witbooi and Cayden Fortune due to club commitments. But the two players are expected to report for national team duty on Sunday, after the first match.
Amajita are the defending champions of the regional tournament after claiming the title in the last two editions. They will be looking to be among the top two nations in Mozambique who will secure their tickets to the AFCON scheduled for Ghana in 2027. The semifinalists in the continental competition will qualify for the FIFA U20 Men’s World Cup set to be staged in Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan next year.
“Football is always about pressure and if we’re going to the competition as nobodies like we did last year, then you will take advantage and say we will see what happens on the field. But anyone who has been put in our group will prepare thoroughly, so it’s a challenge on its own. And also, at the same time it would be good for us to go there and defend what we achieved previously, which is a big challenge, but other than that, we just have to fight with what we have,” said Mdaka.
Former U17 midfielder Lazola Maku has been named captain of the squad and will be assisted by goalkeeper Takalani Mazhamba.
“We have been with Lazola since the last edition, he played COSAFA, the AFCON and the World Cup. We looked into his experience of the environment of these competitions, and he is one of the players that are remaining from last year, so we felt his experience will be able to assist into incorporating the other players. We also know Lazola in terms of play and the character that is there, so we decided to give him the leadership of the team,” added Mdaka.
At the 2026 COSAFA U20 Men’s Cup, the South Africans have been drawn in Group B against Eswatini, Angola and Lesotho. The reigning champions kickstart their title defence in Mozambique with a clash against Lesotho on Saturday, 19 September 2026 and will then tackle Angola two days later on Monday, 21 September. This will be followed by the last group stage match against Eswatini.
The group winners in each of the three pools will progress to the semi-finals alongside the best runner-up.
Fixtures:
Saturday, 19 September:
12h00:South Africa vs Lesotho
15h00: Angola vs Eswatini
Monday, 21 September:
15h00: South Africa vs Angola
18h00: Eswatini vs Lesotho
Wednesday, 23 September
12h00: South Africa vs Eswatini
12h00: Lesotho vs Angola
