Mdaka says Madagascar a ‘closed book’ before Olympic qualifier
South Africa U23 coach Raymond Mdaka says even Bafana Bafana's analysts could find little on Madagascar before the Olympic qualifier this week.
Raymond Mdaka, who coaches the South Africa Under-23 side, has conceded that his team know very little about Madagascar as the two countries prepare to meet in Olympic qualifying at Lucas Masterpieces Moripe Stadium, iDiski Times reported.
Little information on the opposition
Speaking ahead of the tie, Mdaka said that even the analysts who work with the senior Bafana Bafana team had struggled to turn up useful details on the Madagascans. One reason, he explained, is that Madagascar did not feature at this age level at the 2024 COSAFA tournament in Mozambique, so there is no recent tournament footage to study.
“Madagascar is a very closed book,” Mdaka said. He added that the technical staff had searched wherever they could, without much success. He remains confident they will find a solution, however, saying: “It’s challenging, but we always have a way out.”
Tough calls on the final squad
Mdaka also spoke about the difficulty of settling on his final group. Shandre Campbell, Thato Sibiya and Thabang Mahlangu are all back in the fold. Gabi Amato and Siviwe Magidigidi, on the other hand, have missed the cut.
The coach said the depth of talent available makes it hard to narrow the selection to 23 players. He pointed to the wider preliminary pool as a useful tool, because it gives him room to rotate names in and out as circumstances change.
When choosing players, he said, the staff look first for those who are playing regularly and collecting minutes for their clubs. Injuries also play a part, but the pool allows for adjustments, and the quality of each player is weighed too. Mdaka acknowledged that some of those selected may not be getting enough game time to justify a place on that basis alone. In those cases, he suggested, it can be wiser to rely on players the coaching staff already know well rather than gamble on unfamiliar ones.
What is at stake
The result will help decide whether South Africa move on to the next round of the Olympic qualification campaign. The team will have home advantage at the venue this week, and Mdaka will hope that counts for something against an opponent about whom so little is known.
This story is based on reporting by iDiski Times.
