By Levy Masiteng
South Africa’s Under-16 national soccer team have made an impressive statement in Germany, recording back-to-back victories over the youth teams of FC Augsburg and Arminia Bielefeld ahead of the FIFA U-15 World Cup in Azerbaijan.
The young South Africans beat Arminia Bielefeld’s U16 side 5-0 on Saturday, in a friendly at the artificial-turf pitch at SchücoArena in Bielefeld.
The emphatic victory followed a 2-0 win over FC Augsburg’s U16 team on Tuesday, 13 October, at the German club’s training facilities in Augsburg.
The matches formed part of the Bundesliga Dream South Africa project, which gave the team an opportunity to train in Germany, experience professional youth-development structures and test themselves against European opposition.
During their stay in Augsburg, the players also visited the club’s WWK ARENA, attended a Bundesliga match against Bayern Munich and met first-team players Juma Bah and Chrislain Matsima.
According to reports, in Bielefeld, they trained with Arminia’s academy coaches and attended the senior side’s match against VfL Osnabrück at the Bielefelder Alm.
The victories provided valuable preparation for South Africa’s upcoming FIFA U-15 World Cup and Festival in Baku, Azerbaijan, which begins on 24 October and runs until 30 October.
The tournament will feature an eight-a-side format, offering the young players an opportunity to compete internationally and gain experience against teams from around the world.
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