Those boys proved many people wrong

Amajimbos lost their last group stage match 3-1 against Italy but still qualified for the Last 32 of the ongoing FIFA U17 World Cup in Qatar.

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Patrick Mayo, former Bafana Bafana striker

The boys didn't start badly at all; the way they started this competition was promising, and their performance in the group stage reflects the improvement and how far we've come in the development of South African football. That performance, and the fact that they were able to go through to the knockout stage, tell us that we are now able to compete against top quality opponents at the highest level. It's not easy to get out of the group stage of the World Cup because you come up against stronger countries with long-established and well-maintained development structures. That means our own development structures are improving all the time. Those boys, together with the technical team, proved so many people wrong. Just before they left for the World Cup, there was talk about their lack of preparation ahead of such a major tournament, but to their credit, they've shown maturity beyond their age. The fact that they didn't go to the World Cup for individual glory they went there with the sole purpose of representing the country well. We should applaud them for that. Look at their first game against Bolivia, where they played about 60 minutes of the match with a man down. That showed us that these boys do listen and are willing to learn. The fact that, despite being a man down, they managed to win the game tells us that they are growing in terms of their football and mentality. They are willing to learn. Sometimes in tournaments like the World Cup, it's not about how you start but how you finish. You can start badly but, as the tournament progresses, you fix your mistakes, improve your game and can end up winning the competition or go all the way to the semis, where people didn't give you a chance to go.