With the pressure off, Amajita aim to thrill in the semifinal against Nigeria

The two teams, together with Morocco and Egypt, have qualified for the World Cup in Chile in September. 

But now, it’s all about the glory of being crowned African champions, and Mdaka feels that his boys will be able to express themselves.

"Obviously, we want to go for the best that's on offer, and we don't really want to compromise, so we are pushing for gold," announced Mdaka. 

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South Africa has never won the AFCON U20 before, the last time they reached the final was back in 1997 when they lost to Morocco in their backyard, with the tournament's top goal scorer and star player of the team Benni McCarthy, missing out due to suspension, after getting a red card. 

It’s understandable why Mdaka says they want to go all out. 

With the 20-man squad that Amajita have had for this tournament, there are at least four players, who might not have been getting a regular run of games, including two goalkeepers in the past five matches. 

Mdaka says they have had a lot of challenges but managed to overcome them.

"If you study our list of players, we only have twenty players at our disposal, so it has been a challenge. It's very difficult to play a match every two days, and it's even more difficult to ensure adequate recovery for the players. We cannot cry foul, and we're just looking to do the best we possibly can in our current situation," explained the coach. 

At club level, Mdaka went all the way to the CAF Confederation Cup semifinal, before losing to a Nasreddine Nabi-coached Young Africans. But he says, continentally, this World Cup qualification is the highlight for him.