South Africa handed blow ahead of Afcon as Orlando Pirates refuse to release Mbekezeli Mbokazi - 'We thought we’d have him but unfortunately we won’t have him'

Coach Raymond Mdaka and his South Africa national under-20 side are headed to Cairo to compete for continental glory and chase a title that has long eluded them. However, Mdaka has faced major challenges assembling his final squad, as several key players are involved with their senior teams.

These clubs are either chasing league titles or battling relegation in the PSL and NFD. Star attacker Siyabonga Mabena misses out due to an injury sustained against Polokwane City. Mbekezeli Mbokazi has been promoted to Orlando Pirates’ first team and has played a key role in their defensive success across domestic and continental competitions.

Shandre Campbell, who is adjusting to life in Belgium, was in the Uefa Champions League squad against Aston Villa and is also unavailable. Mdaka admitted it’s difficult going into such a major tournament without some of his top talents. Still, he remains determined to guide the squad to a strong showing and believes in the quality of the remaining players.

“It’s too general, we have a big pool since we started selecting players, we had about 40, 30 players, if we say there’s players who won’t be there, it’s in relation to players we had during the Cosafa Cup,” Mdaka said as reported by iDiski Times.

“Most of them we had them in Lesotho, when we played Botswana and so on – but with the group we started with, we don’t have Shandre, his issue was said three weeks back, the team in discussion with management said he’s now with the first team, so it would be difficult to release the boy.

“Mabena has been injured, he was one of the key players, Mbokazi, one of the key players who started every program with him, we thought we’d have him but unfortunately we won’t have him," he added.

“Tiwani, the captain, we discussed with Sundowns and made arrangements, Tiwani will be left in Egypt, we have Neo Rapoo also, we’re in constant discussions with the teams, just to see how best we can help each other. SuperSport are playing a crucial match, you see their position, so we allowed him to play and then join us in Egypt.

“We will be missing Shandre, Mbokazi and Ofentse [Kgosana] also might not be with us as key players, we had in all our previous camps.”

A successful run in the U20 Afcon would secure qualification for the Fifa U20 World Cup in Chile, as only the top four teams from Egypt advance. South Africa’s U17s have already secured a spot at the U17 World Cup in Qatar, adding pressure on Mdaka to follow suit.

This generation is considered one of the most promising, with talents like Asekho Tiwani and Mfundo Vilakazi expected to make a major impact. For South African football, qualifying would be a huge boost for development structures.

It would also raise the international profile of the players and improve the chances of overseas moves. With youth structures aligning, Mdaka’s success could signal a bright future for South African football.

An opening Group A clash against Sierra Leone. Other group opponents include Egypt, Zambia, and Tanzania.

A good start will be key to setting the tone.