South Africa’s Under-17 boys’ team, the Amajimbos, began their FIFA U17 World Cup campaign in Doha, Qatar, this afternoon with an impressive 3-1 victory over Bolivia.
Despite facing adversity early in the match, the Amajimbos showed great resilience. In the 35th minute, defender Siwe Pama was shown a red card, forcing South Africa to play with 10 men. However, that setback didn’t stop them, just minutes later, Emile Witbooi opened the scoring to give the team a 1-0 lead.
After the break, Neo Bohloko extended South Africa’s advantage with a well-taken goal to make it 2-0. Bolivia were later awarded a penalty in the 70th minute, which they converted to reduce the deficit to 2-1.
In the dying moments of the match, Shaun Els sealed the victory with a third goal, ensuring the Amajimbos started their World Cup journey on a high note.
Amajimbos will face the hosts Qatar on Thursday 6 Nov for the 2nd group match.