By Johnathan Paoli
South Africa’s under-17 national team, the Amajimbos, suffered a setback in their bid for automatic qualification to the FIFA U-17 World Cup after going down 2-0 to Algeria in their second Group D match at the TotalEnergies CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations.
Playing at the Mohammed VI Football Academy in Sale on Sunday, the Amajimbos were undone by a clinical display from Algerian forward Yacine Abed, who scored to hand the North Africans a crucial victory in what is widely regarded as the tournament’s toughest group.
The 16-year-old, who plays for Paradou Athletic Club’s academy side, opened the scoring in the 41st minute before sealing the result five minutes from full-time.
Abed was later named Man of the Match after another influential performance for the hosts.
The result saw South Africa surrender top spot in Group D after beginning the tournament with a morale-boosting 2-1 comeback victory over Senegal last week.
Algeria moved ahead of Amajimbos in the standings, while Senegal revived their campaign with a narrow 1-0 victory over Ghana.
After two rounds of matches, Ghana remain without a win and face a difficult task heading into the final group fixtures.
The top two teams in each group qualify automatically for the quarterfinals and secure places at the FIFA U-17 World Cup, scheduled to take place in Qatar in November.
Third-placed teams will still have an opportunity to qualify through additional playoffs.
South Africa, however, will be determined to avoid that route and instead clinch automatic qualification when they face Ghana in their final group match on Wednesday.
A victory against the West Africans would likely be enough to book Amajimbos a place at the World Cup, replicating the achievement of South Africa’s under-17 side last year.
The defeat follows the Amajimbos’ opening win against defending champions Senegal.
In that match, South Africa showed resilience after falling behind shortly before halftime.
Senegal had taken the lead through Cheikh Thior in the 44th minute, but Amajimbos responded strongly after the break.
Inganathi Simama equalised three minutes into the second half following an assist from Aphelele Majola before a long-range strike from Reotshepile Malete deflected into the net off Thior to complete the comeback victory.
Speaking before the match, coach Vela Khumalo expressed concern over the team’s performance but maintained confidence regarding the its development.
He said that the team’s performances were still developing as the tournament progressed.
“We will grow with the tournament. Our target is qualifying for the World Cup, and we are very close to doing that,” Khumalo said.
The North Africans had also shown fighting spirit in their opening fixture after recovering from a two-goal deficit to draw 2-2 against Ghana.
Abed had played a central role in that comeback as well, providing an assist for Melwane Zaidi’s equaliser after Algeria trailed 2-0 at halftime.
