Cape Town - South Africa Under-23 coach Owen da Gama reveals that they will dissect Tunisia’s tactics before their final group stage encounter.
Amaglug-glug defeated Zambia 3-2 while Senegal beat Tunisia 2-0 in the other Group A match - both were played on Tuesday, December 1 at the Léopold Senghor Stadium in Dakar.
The result leaves the hosts top of the group on six points, three more than second placed South Africa and third-placed Tunisia. Zambia is bottom of the table with no points after two losses in the tournament and have no chance of making it to the last four.
Senegal has qualified for the next round while the battle for the other spot is between South Africa and Tunisia who clash on Friday, 4 December at the Caroline Faye Stadium in Mbour. Senegal will play Zambia.
“We will sit down as the technical team and will review their matches in the tournament – against Zambia and Senegal – and dissect them to get a clear understanding of how they play.
“But at the end of the day, we have to get our team right, and play to our strengths. We are very fortunate that we have played both our games in the tournament at 15:00, they have played both their games in the evening and our final match is in the afternoon, maybe that’s a bit of an advantage to us.
The winner between South Africa and Tunisia will join the hosts in the last four, while a draw will see South Africa go through.
“The boys have played two matches in four days so it is important that the recovery is done properly and we make sure they are as fresh as possible for the Friday match.
“We will be back on the field on Thursday just to feel the ground as we are playing at a different venue but there will be a lot of recovery in between. There is also travelling.
Kickoff is at 17:00 (SA time).