Amajimbos head coach Vela Khumalo is already turning his attention to next year’s U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) following South Africa’s exit from the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar.
South Africa lost 3-0 to Japan in their round of 32 clash on Saturday after a flurry of second-half goals.
Despite crashing out of the tournament, Amajombos made history, reaching the knockout stage for the first time and claiming a first ever victory at the tournament in the nation’s second appearance at the global showpiece.
Speaking after the loss, Khumalo emphasised the gravity of the experience for his young stars, stating it was a learning experience.
“It’s huge, it’s equal to nothing. Being in the World Cup, it’s equal to nothing. You cannot measure it against any other thing except to say you’re in the World Cup.
“What are you learning? You learn so many things. You learn that even if you can be good on the ball, but if you don’t know how to use it properly, you’ll be punished still. And there are so many things. Dedication, being disciplined, tactical discipline, doing things at the right time, and knowing exactly in which phase one needs to do what,” said Khumalo following South Africa’s exit from the tournament.
With his side’s spot at the 2026 U-17 AFCON in Morocco already secured, Khumalo is already shifting his attention to the upcoming task.
“Remember we had already a team that is qualifying for AFCON, and in March next year we’ll be playing in Morocco, and as we’ll be playing in Morocco, we’ll be qualifiers to the World Cup. And that is where now the lessons that we’ve learned from the World Cup will creep in,” he said.
Expressing pride in his team, he explained that this year’s World Cup acted as a good measure for where Amajimbos want to be and what is needed from them to get to that level.
“I’m happy honestly that this was more of a yak stick to us to say expect the following, because remember it’s our first time getting to this level. So next year we need to up the bar and say how far can we go? Can we test ourselves to say we can go even further with the tournament? Maybe not the last 32, but maybe the last 16 or even further to the last eight and so forth.“
Amajimbos will return home with their heads held high and a solid performance on which to build in the coming years.
