South Africa national under-23 football team
The South Africa national under-23 football team is a youth football (soccer) team, which represents South Africa and is controlled by the South African Football Association, the governing body for football in South Africa. The team's main objectives are to qualify and play at the All-Africa Games and Olympic Games. The team has played at three All-Africa Games and one Olympic tournament. Players who are selected, will be 23 or younger in the following Olympic year. With the next Olympics being held in London in 2012, players need to have been born on or after 1 January 1989. At the Olympic finals tournament, the team may be supplemented with 3 over-age players.[2]
| Nickname(s) | Amaglug-glug | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | South African Football Association | ||
| Confederation | CAF (Africa) | ||
| Sub-confederation | COSAFA | ||
| Head coach | David Notoane | ||
| Captain | Repo Malepe | ||
| FIFA code | RSA | ||
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| First international | |||
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| Olympic Games | |||
| Appearances | 2 (first in 2000) | ||
| Best result | Group Stage (2000, 2016) | ||
| Africa U-23 Cup of Nations | |||
| Appearances | 3 (first in 2011) | ||
| Best result | Third place (2015, 2019) | ||
| African Games | |||
| Appearances | 4 (first in 1999) | ||
| Best result | Runner up (2011) | ||
History
The team was started in 1994, when SAFA decided to form a youth team. The team has been sponsored by SASOL since its inception, leading to the nickname, 'Amaglug-glug'. The team's greatest achievements to date include a third-place finish at the 1999 All-Africa Games, hosted in South Africa and qualifying for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
Tournament records
Olympic Games record
| Olympic Games | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hosts/Year | Result | GP | W | D* | L | GS | GA | |
 | Did not enter | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
.svg.png){kind=small} | Group Stage | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | |
 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
 | Group Stage | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
 | Qualified | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Total | 3/6 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 7 | |
- Prior to the 1992 Olympic Games campaign, the Olympic football tournament was open to full senior national teams.
Recent results and fixtures
| 19 July 2015 2015 AFCON Q | Zimbabwe  | 1–1 | | Harare, Zimbabwe |
| 15:00 CAT | Musona  |
Report | Dolly |
Stadium: Rufaro Stadium Referee: Stanley Hachiwa (Zambia) |
| 1 August 2015 2015 AFCON Q | South Africa | 3–0 | | Pietermaritzburg, South Africa |
| 20:15 SAST | Dolly Motupa |
Report | Stadium: Harry Gwala Stadium Referee: Simanga Pritchard Nhleko (Swaziland) |
| 4 September 2015 Friendly | Tunisia  | 0–4 | | Tunis, Tunisia |
| Report | Mothiba Patel |
Stadium: Stade El Menzah |
| 7 September 2015 Friendly | Tunisia | 2–1 | | Tunis, Tunisia |
| Bguir |
Report | Dolly |
Stadium: Stade El Menzah |
| 28 November 2015 2015 AFCON GS | Senegal  | 3–1 | | Dakar, Senegal |
| 15:00 GMT | Keita S. Sarr |
Report | Ntshangase |
Stadium: Stade Léopold Sédar Senghor Referee: Rédouane Jiyed (Morocco) |
| 1 December 2015 2015 AFCON GS | South Africa | 3–2 |  | Dakar, Senegal |
| 15:00 GMT | Masuku Motupa |
Report | Luchanga Katema |
Stadium: Stade Léopold Sédar Senghor Referee: Mehdi Abid Charef (Algeria) |
| 4 December 2015 2015 AFCON GS | South Africa | 1–0 | | M'Bour, Senegal |
| 17:00 GMT | Masuku |
Report | Stadium: Stade Caroline Faye Referee: Hamada Nampiandraza (Madagascar) |
| 9 December 2015 2015 AFCON SF | Algeria  | 2–0 | | Dakar, Senegal |
| 18:30 GMT | Darfalou Benkhemassa |
Report | Stadium: Stade Léopold Sédar Senghor Referee: Juste Ephrem Zio (Burkina Faso) |
| 12 December 2015 2015 AFCON 3rd place match | Senegal | 0–0 (1–3 p) | | Dakar, Senegal |
| 16:00 GMT | Report | Stadium: Stade Léopold Sédar Senghor Referee: Hudu Munyemana (Rwanda) | ||
| Penalties | ||||
Badji  Diaw I. Sarr  S. Sarr |
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| 27 March 2016 Friendly | Brazil | 3–1 | | Maceió, Brazil |
| 18:30 BRT | Rodrigo Caio Felipe Anderson Andreas Pereira |
Report | Mothiba |
Stadium: Estádio Rei Pelé |
| 4 August 2016 2016 Olympics GS | Brazil | 0-0 | | Brasília, Brazil |
| 16:00 BRT | Stadium: Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha |
| 7 August 2016 2016 Olympics GS | Denmark  | 1-0 | | Brasília, Brazil |
| 19:00 BRT | Robert Skov |
Stadium: Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha |
| 10 August 2016 2016 Olympics GS | South Africa | 0-0 |  | São Paulo, Brazil |
| 22:00 BRT | Stadium: Arena Corinthians |
| Friendly | South Africa | – | |
Team
Current squad
2019 South Africa Men's U23 National Team
Goalkeepers: Mondli Mpoto (Bloemfontein Celtic)‚ Darren Johnson (Ajax Cape Town‚ Andile Mbanjwa (Richards Bay FC)
Defenders: Keagan Johannes (Ajax Cape Town)‚ Siyabonga Ngezana (Kaizer Chiefs‚ Thendo Mukumela (Ajax Cape Town)‚ Thabiso Monyane (Orlando Pirates)‚ Happy Mashiane (Kaizer Chiefs)‚ Tercious Malepe (Chippa United)‚ Katlego Mohamme (University of Pretoria)‚ Keanu Cupido (Cape Town City)
Midfielders: Sipho Mbule (SuperSport United)‚ Athenkosi Dlala (University of Pretoria‚ Kobamelo Kodisang (FC Braga‚ Portugal)‚ Kamohelo Mahlatsi (University of Pretoria)‚ Grant Margeman (Ajax Cape Town)‚ Teboho Mokoena (SuperSport United)
Strikers: Phakamani Mahlambi (Mamelodi Sundowns)‚ Lyle Foster (Cercle Brugge‚ Belgium)‚ Itumeleng Shopane (Swallows FC), Luther Singh (Moreirense FC‚ Portugal)
Notable former players
Players who have previously played for the under-23 team, and have since gone on to play for the senior team:
Managers
References
External links
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