The South African U-20 side booked their place in the final of the tournament with a thrilling 4-3 penalty shootout victory against Belarus on Friday as their impressive run in the competition continued.
Coach David Notane believes the event has been an ideal preparation for his charges ahead of the CAF African Youth Champions (AYC) in Senegal in March.
“Teamwork and planning have been key,” the Amajita mentor said. “We have had common goals and objectives coming here and it was important to drive our purpose. Booking a ticket to Senegal was motivation enough for players and they responded well.”
Amajita had a tough task beating Russia in the quarter-finals, and had to be at their best as they edged Belarus on penalties in the semis, resulting in heaped praise from their coach.
“Teamwork and tactical adaptation of the team to overcome the challenges each game brings,” Notoane responded when asked what the secret was to Amajita’s resilience.
“The spirit and will of this group came through in the semis ... that is the mental toughness and character we were hoping to take out of this tournament.”
Amajita have now become the first South African team to reach a final of a tournament in Europe.
“Wow, I never took notice of that!” Notoane exclaimed when told of the news. “It is indeed humbling that we have broken the duck. We feel blessed to have achieved that feat and it will remain entrenched in our minds.
“Of course it is ideal preparation for AYC, we draw inspiration and belief from this experience that we can transfer this achievement to the continental stage.”
Notoane feels the trip to Russia for his young side will only benefit South African football in the long run.
“[The trip was] very good for the group; the bond amongst the players grew stronger, we achieved tactical understanding and cohesion based on the formation we want to play,” he said.
“We got exposed to different cultures of football and we draw important lessons to determine our football positioning globally in this age group. This experience will help us in the future in terms of SAFA Vision 2022.”
In Sunday’s final, Amajita face European rivals Finland who beat Turkmenistan in their semi-final match-up yesterday.