Mdaka backs South Africa U23 quality despite Madagascar ‘closed book’

South Africa U23 coach Raymond Mdaka says his side will rely on their own quality after admitting Madagascar remain largely unknown ahead of their 2028 Los Angeles Olympic qualifier.

The first leg of the second-round AFCON U23 and Olympic qualifiers takes place at Lucas Moripe Stadium this afternoon, with Mdaka confident his team can overcome the lack of information about their opponents.

Madagascar were due to face Comoros in the previous round, but that fixture did not take place and they advanced by walkover. As a result, South Africa have had little recent footage or information to study.

“Honestly, Madagascar is a very closed book, we have tried with whoever including our senior team analysts because Madagascar was not there in 2024 when we were playing COSAFA in Mozambique because this is the age group,” Mdaka said.

“We checked almost everywhere where we thought we could find something, it remains a closed book but other than that we always have a way as the technical team and coaches, to at least find something. Which is a little bit difficult but we always have a way out.”

Despite the uncertainty surrounding Madagascar, South Africa have had useful preparation for the opening match.

The U23 side played two matches against a strong Algeria team during the last international week, giving Mdaka an opportunity to assess his squad before the Olympic qualifying campaign begins.

One player who was not involved in those preparations was Shandre Campbell, although the coaching staff know the Belgian-based attacker well from his time with the age group during the 2024 COSAFA campaign. Campbell is also part of the Bafana Bafana squad.

Mdaka believes Campbell’s attacking ability would give the team another important option in the final third.

“I’ve been with Shandre from our COSAFA years, it’s correct and I think we know Shandre much better. What we have been doing with the technical team, if you check, most of our attacking parts are the players who can play either as a winger or as a 10,” he said.

The coach pointed to the versatility of Mfundo Vilakazi and Kutlwano Letlhaku as examples of the approach being used by his team.

“You have Mfundo [Vilakazi] who at Chiefs they play him as a winger, we play him as a 10 sometimes. You have Kutlwano [Letlhaku] who plays as a winger at Sundowns, sometimes playing as a 10.

“It helps us in terms of movements upfront, to say at any moment where we attack, you are able to do interchanges and they can always give you results.”

Mdaka’s side will now look to turn that attacking flexibility and their recent preparation into an advantage against a Madagascar team they have been unable to scout in depth.