South Africa U-20 head coach Thabo Senong has praised his players for their efforts after they beat the Flying Eagles of Nigeria to the third position at the 2019 U -20 Africa Cup of Nations in Niger, reports Completesports.com.
The Amajita edged the contest 5-3 on penalties after both teams failed to find the back of the net in regulation time.
The Flying Eagles dominated possession like they did when both teams clashed in the group stage, but failed to break a disciplined Amajita defence.
Amajita’s goalkeeper Walter Kubheka saved Adamu Ibrahim Alhassan’s penalty as the South Africans converted their fives spot-kicks to edge the seven-time champions to the third place.
“I’m happy for my boys because they won the match and we played against a very good team, Nigeria,” Senong told reporters during his post-match press conference.
“For us one was just to rotate the squad a bit and give some players caps and to approach the game with a winning mentality.”
The South Africans also finished in third position in the previous edition of the competition held two years ago in Senegal.
Mali and Senegal will battle for first position when they face each other in the final today (Sunday ) at the Seyni Kountche Stadium, Niamey.
