South African Under-17 national team coach Duncan Crowie is relieved after Amajimbos were confirmed as one of the eight teams going to play in the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations tournament currently underway in Algeria.
The South Africans went through some uncertainty after they were beaten 3-2 by the Nigerian Golden Eaglets in their last group stages match on Saturday evening. Amajimbos’ confirmation as quarter-finalists only came after Burkina Faso beat Cameroon 2-1 on Sunday evening.
Crowie’s boys are now going to play against Senegal at the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Algiers, Algeria, at 18h00 on Wednesday.
“I think everything started before the game between Cameroon and Burkina Faso. We played and the idea was to win against Nigeria. The permutations became nearly complicated after South Sudan was suspended, meaning the third-placed teams needed to calculate, somehow,” Crowie said.
On facing Senegal, who reached the quarter-finals with a 100 percent record, the Santos legend said: “Of course, the boys are over the moon and look forward to the encounter against Senegal in the quarter-finals. If we win this game, they will qualify for the World Cup. Senegal are quality, they are the best team. It’s gonna be a tough one.”
