South Africa U-20 head coach Raymond Mdaka has spoken openly about his team’s upcoming semi-final clash against Nigeria’s Flying Eagles at the ongoing 2025 U-20 AFCON in Egypt, Footynaija.com reports.
With both teams already through to the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile, attention has now shifted to the highly anticipated showdown on Thursday.
Mdaka, who led the Amajita to a 1-0 extra-time victory over DR Congo in the quarter-finals, admitted there has been light-hearted banter between the two teams ahead of the clash.
The South African squad has been lodged at the same hotel as the Flying Eagles in Ismailia, and it has not taken long for the teasing to start.
“We are staying at the same hotel and already they’re saying we’re their junior brothers,” Mdaka told Times Live.
“So you know it will be a tough game, especially with the rivalry.”
Nigeria reached the last four after a tense 0-0 draw with Senegal, which they won 3-1 on penalties. The victory eliminated the defending champions and confirmed Nigeria’s place in the semi-finals and at the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
South Africa booked their own ticket courtesy of a dramatic winner from substitute Thabang Mahlangu, who struck five minutes into added time of the first half of extra-time.
Despite already securing qualification for Chile, Mdaka stressed that the South African team is not content with just reaching the World Cup.
“In all our games we play to win and we will continue with that mentality against Nigeria,” he said.
“Yes, we’ve achieved the bigger goal, but we can’t let Nigeria walk all over us.”
The South African coach also took time to reflect on his personal journey and how much this World Cup qualification means to him.
“I’ve achieved some special things as a coach. I took Marumo Gallants to the Confederation Cup semifinals [where they lost to Yanga of Tanzania in 2023] and I won the Cosafa Cup with this team [in October],” he said.
“But I regard taking this team to the World Cup as the highest feat of my coaching career. Qualifying a team for the World Cup is the biggest thing in football.”
Mdaka admitted that it had not been a smooth ride, especially during the group stage where South Africa had to find their way in a five-team group.
“It wasn’t an easy route, especially because we were in a group of five teams, which means we had to play four matches and we passed that test by qualifying for the quarterfinals,” he said.
“And when we got there we knew we were one step away from going to the World Cup, so the boys gave their all — and here we are.”
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