Mdaka demands more discipline after SA U23 edge past Madagascar

SA U23 coach Raymond Mdaka says he will work to curb individualism in his squad after South Africa opened their 2028 Olympic Games qualifying campaign with a 1-0 win over Madagascar.

The junior national team secured a narrow victory at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Saturday, but Mdaka was left frustrated by aspects of the performance, particularly the decision-making of winger Shandre Campbell.

Campbell repeatedly tried to take on opponents and create opportunities by himself, rather than making the most of options available to him. Mdaka said the team’s talented players needed to show greater discipline in attacking situations.

“You’re very spot on because I don’t know if that’s the nature or how it’s supposed to be, because most of the talented players will want to make things that are not there in a situation where it could be simple,” said Mdaka.

“Remember the ball that Shandre got? Everyone was showing up in the box, something that we should’ve put in, and then we score and then we get something. We will work on that, do a lot of team building, and we do a lot of presentations for them to understand playing as a team and getting a goal.”

Mdaka added that attacker Mfundo Vilakazi had previously been guilty of similar decisions, although he had since learned how to turn his individual ability into something that benefited the team.

Madagascar proved difficult to break down, with Mdaka saying his technical staff had to adjust their approach as the match developed. Substitute Quwan Plaatjies eventually scored the only goal of the game.

The result could have been more convincing, according to Mdaka, particularly because the fixture was officially regarded as a South Africa away match. CAF did not approve a venue in which Madagascar could stage the match.

“I think had we converted the few chances that we got, it should’ve given us that leverage a bit, so we ended up being frustrated because sometimes when you want goals and they’re not coming, it’s frustrating a bit,” he said.

South Africa made changes in the second half to improve their attacking threat while also protecting the centre of the pitch and limiting Madagascar’s counter-attacking opportunities.

“We made some substitutions just to make sure we strengthened going forward and also blocked the middle to close some of the counters, and I think it worked for us,” said Mdaka.

“We missed a few chances again after those subs, but all good for us, and we’re looking forward to the next game that we play on Tuesday.”

SA U23 are beginning a lengthy qualifying route for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, with Mdaka now focused on improving the team’s collective play before that next fixture.