Mdaka reflects on toppling Zambia as Amajita book AFCON U20 ticket to defend title

By Velile Mnyandu
26th September 2026

Qualifying for the U20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament, to go and defend their title was the most important target for Amajita head coach Raymond Mdaka.

This he revealed after a hard fought 4-2 win over Zambia, coming from 1-0 down and turned things around in the second half. It was a clash between two strongest youth football nations in the region, but the Mzansi superiority reigned supreme, as Amajita reached the final and will be meeting hosts Mozambique in the final in Maputo tomorrow.

"To me, honestly, people might want the trophy, but the key was to qualify for AFCON. Also, the team that we are playing against – make no mistakes – Zambia is a strong team. No wonder they are angry now. They don't know what happened to them, but playing against such a strong team, obviously, we knew it's going to be very difficult. But credit to the boys. The Angola game, the Zambia game – honestly, we need players with character and players who are ready to go and play," said Mdaka

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In the first half, Amajita were on the ropes, as the Young Chipolopolo totally dominated the game, with their aggression and pinning the Mzansi boys to their own half. But they responded in the second half with a brace from Steven “Stevie G” Mendes from the penalty spot, Oarabile “Guluva” Booysens and Emile Witboo’s sensational fourth goal.

In the final against the hosts, it’s going to be a different ball game altogether, with more emphasis between the two teams on playing than the physicality of the game like it was against Zambia. This is one area where Mdaka showed his knowledge of the regional and continental game yesterday, on how to respond to the strengths of the opponents and outmaneuver them.

Another big talking point yesterday was Amajita not playing Milimo Nalumango, who had just changed his allegiance from Zambia to South Africa before the camp. The signs were there that Mdaka and his technical team were being psychological in how they dealt with this game, as he explains why they kept the Orlando Pirates defender on the bench.