Bafana Bafana legend, Shaun Bartlett, says that, while he hopes Amajimbos can succeed at the U17 World Cup, it’s more important that they use it to develop themselves.
Molefi Ntseki’s boys lost their opening World Cup game this week to Costa Rica, succumbing to a 2-1 defeat in Concepcion on Monday evening.
Now, as they prepare for their second game, against Korea DPR on Thursday, Bartlett says that he’s hoping that people can understand what the tournament is really about.
Speaking to the Siya crew, Bartlett said, “I think the key is what they can learn. I’ve seen a lot of comments and quotes about it being the ‘time to shine’ for these boys, but there’s no such thing as that at 16 years of age. It’s all about it being part of your development.
“I’m hoping that they’ll go there, yes to succeed, but if they don’t succeed then it’s about what they learn, as individuals and as a team, that can help them going forward. I think that that’s something we forget with young boys, they’re still developing. I hope that, for the whole squad, one day they get to play at the highest level.”
Read: Amajimbos - All Still To Play For
Amajimbos’ clash with Korea DPR will be shown live on SABC 1 at 22h00 on Thursday evening.
