Amajita gear up for pivotal clash with World Cup qualification within reach

The two teams lock horns at the Suez Canal Stadium in Ismailia, Egypt, in the fourth and last qualifier at 9pm (8pm SA Time). 

Amajita finished as Group A winners, but Mdaka says qualifying for the World Cup in Chile has always been the primary target.

"Well, the team is fine, everything is okay, we don't have injuries. We were a bit worried about the freshness of the team but so far in our last session we could see as much as we've used a number of players without replacement for so long, I think they still look a bit fresh,” Mdaka said.

“We think we have got the energy to take tomorrow's game. It's the most important game because every country that came here might be thinking of or might have thought of other results but the core is to qualify for the World Cup.

“So, to us it becomes the final before the final and this is the main one honestly and we would want to do very well, as much as we can. We'll put everything that we have, I think that's the main reason for everybody to be here."

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After the last game against Sierra Leone, the players had complained about dropping energy levels, as the tournament started to take its toll on their bodies.

Mdaka says they have had this past weekend to revitalize them after the one-all draw against Zambia.

"That's the only thing that you need to manage in these kinds of situations. If we were playing maybe in a group of four where we should have played at least three games, yes, but the only thing that you need to do because you are playing a match after every two days so you don't have [time to rest],” the coach explained.

“It would be a day for recovery and another day for rest but in this case, it should be a mixture of rest and recovery and then you go to match day minus one and you play.

So, it's quite complex but you know when you go to a tournament you read the rules, you read the situation around the environment and then you adjust. You adjust to say, if this is how it is, let's see how best can we refresh the players because that's very important. “It's your tactics that you have and you know them already but then the freshness of the body is another thing. So, just one thing that we are trying to manage as serious as we can but I think we are on the spot on that."