Da Gama is set to name the final group of players that will travel to Senegal to take part in the eight-nation tournament, which doubles up as 2016 Olympic qualifiers, this week.
South Africa will send a team to Rio next year if they can finish in the top three at the U-23 Afcon, but the coach admits he has a selection headache after the team’s 2-1 defeat to Mamelodi Sundowns in a practice match at Chloorkop on Saturday.
“We are satisfied with all the players who have featured in the U-23 squad this year; it will be a long week for me and the technical team as we have to select only 21 players who will travel to Senegal for the U-23 African Nations Cup,” Da Gama says.
“The practice match against Sundowns just proved the talent we have at our disposal. Phakamani Mahlambi and goalkeeper King Ndlovu also played this morning and they impressed me very much that they have just confused us even more in terms of who gets dropped and who is selected for Senegal.”
The squad checked out of national camp and will return to camp on 22 November to polish up their final preparations before heading to Senegal.