PRETORIA - Bidvest Wits' shot-stopper, Darren Keet, believes Thabo Senong has enough quality and depth in his South Africa Under-20 squad (Amajita) to challenge for honours at this year’s Africa Under-20 Cup of Nations, which kicks in Zambia on Sunday.
Amajita are pitted in Group B, where they’ll lock horns with Cameroon, Sudan and Senegal in pursuit of a top four finish, which will see them secure their place in the upcoming Fifa Under-20 World Cup, set to take place in South Korea later in the year.
Keet, who was part of the 2009 squad which represented South Africa at the Fifa Under-20 World Cup which took place in Egypt, said the current squad had the required potential to achieve what his generation did back then.
“Nothing beats hard work, that I can guarantee you,” Keet said. “That’s one of the reasons why I was selected to travel with the team to Egypt back then, though I didn’t feature in the team’s qualification phase. I worked hard when I got my call-up. This is what this current generation players would need to do when they get there (in Zambia). They’ll have to work hard, if they are to achieve their goal (of qualifying for the World Cup). I’ve looked at their squad and they’ve got enough quality to do just that. It’ll all depend on how bad they want it though.”
The last time Amajita featured in this tournament, back in 2015, they finished third in their group, a result which saw them fall short of qualifying for the Fifa Under-20 World Cup, which took place in New Zealand later in that year.
Building up to this biennial continental showpiece though, Senong made it very clear that he and his technical staff have since learned from previous mistakes, and that they hope to do better than they did then, this time around.
But Keet, who’s most likely to be in Wits’ starting line-up when his side take on Mamelodi Sundowns in an Absa Premiership league clash at Loftus Versveld on Saturday (Kick-off 6pm), said the responsibility of doing well in this tournament did not only rely on the coaches alone, as players themselves would also need to take up the responsibility of fighting for winning results on the pitch as well.
A good perfomance by the Amajita squad in this tournament, 27-year old shot-stopper believes, might go a long way in providing them with the much longed-for breakthroughs these players are hoping to get in their respective young careers.
“If you look at my generation who represented South Africa in Egypt, most of us went on to have successful careers in football,” Keet said. “And that was a result of the work we put in every match we got to play in. That’s just the way it is. You’ll have to work hard, if you are to be given a chance by your senior side in your respective club. I even got a chance to go a play abroad (Belgium), before I came back here to Wits. These lads need to do that, if they are to break into the professional scene in the ages they are in. But I’m confident that they’ll do well.”