South Africa U23 coach Raymond Mdaka says his side must improve in front of goal after a narrow 1-0 victory over Madagascar in their opening 2028 Olympic Games qualifying match.
Quwan Plaatjies came off the bench to score late in the second half at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Saturday, giving Amaglug-glug an away goal in what was officially Madagascar’s home fixture.
Madagascar hosted the match in Pretoria because it does not have facilities that meet CAF and Fifa standards for international Olympic qualifying games.
Despite securing the win, Mdaka was frustrated that South Africa failed to make more of the chances they created against a stubborn opponent.
“I think had we converted the few chances we got, it should have given us that leverage a bit, so we ended up being frustrated because sometimes when you want goals, and they are not coming, it is frustrating,” Mdaka told the media after the match.
“But all good for us, and we are looking forward to the next game on Tuesday.”
The teams will meet again at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Tuesday at 8pm, with the winner progressing to the third round to face either Rwanda or Cameroon.
Mdaka believes the tie remains finely balanced and has called for a stronger performance in the second leg.
The coach also warned against underestimating Madagascar or any of the other teams in the Cosafa region, pointing to the progress made by sides that South Africa could face.
“You always think twice about playing Angola, Zambia or Mozambique. Honestly, I think there is a lot of improvement among the teams that we are playing against,” he said.
“You can also attest to that with what you saw from Madagascar. There is no team that you can look down on … They are very good. Football has improved a lot among the Cosafa [teams].”
South Africa had entered the first match with little information about Madagascar, who were unfamiliar opponents for Mdaka’s technical team.
The coach said the opening game had provided valuable insight into the visitors’ players and approach, giving his side a clearer idea of what to expect in the return fixture.
“For the technical team, at least we’ve got something to work off. Opponents cannot change overnight, so seeing them once means 50% of what we are doing is already mapped out,” he said.
“We went into this game without any technical analysis of the opposition. They were a closed book, very closed, whereas they knew all about us. What we gathered from the first leg will help us understand the kind of players we are up against and their style of play.”
