South African U23 coach David Notoane has selected his squad for the upcoming CAF U23 Championship qualifier against Togo.
The two nations will meet in the second round two-legged qualifier later this month and Notoane has selected a strong squad made up of locally based players.
But because of the games not falling on FIFA dates, Notoane is hoping that all players will be made available, as they begin their quest to qualify for the next Olympics.
“Selecting this squad has been very challenging because we had a bye when Togo faced Mauritania, and we did not have any official practice matches during the previous FIFA window. Now with other teams having played already, they have a sense of where their squads are,” Notoane told SAFA’s website.
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“We had to put together a team that will be able to give us an advantage in the first leg, secure a victory first, try not to concede and come away with a clean sheet in Togo, which will be very difficult in a hostile environment and with altitude also a very important factor to consider.
“So with [PSL] teams rendering certain players unavailable due to their hectic programmes, and also looking at the fact that some players will be required to honour their club commitments up until Wednesday, we had to find a very good balance in making sure we have a squad that is strong enough to compete, and fresh enough to be able to deal with the conditions in West Africa, in Togo.
“In terms of selecting the players, we had a lot of engagements with the PSL, with the clubs directly to see which players are available. We also requested some fixtures, especially in the ABC Motsepe League, to be moved. Those are some of the challenges we had to overcome in finalizing the squad. But one is confident that we have put together a team that will be strong enough, competitive enough and we should be able to come out of Togo with something positive.
“We have even gone further and looked at the South African Under-20 squad playing in the COSAFA tournament in Swaziland and a few of the players there have shown tremendous talent and ability. Seeing that they are already active and in competition, we are also considering selecting one or two of them to give us depth and options due to the unavailability of certain players.”
GOALKEEPERS:
Lincoln VYVER (Cape Town Spurs), Bontle MOLEFE (Kaizer Chiefs), Olwethu MZIMELA (Amazulu)
DEFENDERS:
Rushine DORTLEY (Cape Town Spurs), Kamogelo MAHLANGU (TS Galaxy), Zuko MDUNYELWA (Chippa Utd), Siyanda MSANI (Richards Bay), Khaya MFECANE (Cape Town Spurs), Keagan ALLEN (Moroka Swallows), Kerwin PETERS (All Stars), Thabiso SESANE (All Stars)
MIDFIELDERS:
Jayden ADAMS (Stellenbosch), Ethan BROOKS (Amazulu), Oswin ANDRIES (Stellenbosch), Sifiso MBIDANA (Pretoria Callies), Oswin APPOLIS (Pretoria Callies)
FORWARDS:
Ashley CUPIDO (Cape Town Spurs), Antonio Van Wyk (Stellenbosch), Azola MATROSE (Chippa United), Chumani BUTSAKA (Cape Town Spurs), Dan NDLOVU (Baroka), Cassius MAILULA (Mamelodi Sundowns), Mduduzi SHABALALA (Kaizer Chiefs), Aphelele TETO (TS Galaxy)
