South Sudan Under-20 manager Peter James wants his team to avoid necessary mistakes when they take on neighbours Central African Republic (CAR) in the second round of group stage games at the Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations on Thursday.
The Bright Stars lost 2-1 to Congo in their Group B opener on Monday and James blamed it on mistakes and injuries to some key players.
With the result of Thursday’s game potentially determining their fate, James says the match needs to be played like it is a final.
“The game to me it’s a one-way game because we did all the necessary preparations to win tomorrow,” James said on the CAF website.
“All the matches we’re going to play will not be easy for us because all the teams are at the same level that’s why they qualified so we play all the matches as if it’s a final to us.
“Mistakes are part of the game. We correct our mistakes, and we try to perform and avoid them in the coming games.”
🇨🇫 🆚 🇸🇸
Who will make up for their matchday 1️⃣ defeat? 🤼♂️ #TotalEnergiesAFCONU20 pic.twitter.com/ypK2rekb26
— #TotalEnergiesAFCONU20 (@CAF_Online) February 23, 2023
James went on to give an update on the trio of Safino Lado, Bul James Anyang and Agumemboki Abishai who were injured in the previous game, stating all three will be ready for the CAR match.
“Safino Lado who was injured in the opening minutes is recovering and he resumed training today and Bul James Anyang is another who started training this morning our striker Agumemboki Abishai is also ready and three will be part of tomorrow’s game,” James declared.
“Although we had injuries, we will do our best – we have three choices but for us we want to. Tomorrow, we have one option, and we need the points more than them.”
The other Group B game is between Uganda and Congo. With both teams tied on three points, they could be through to the quarter-finals with just a draw as both South Sudan and the Central Africans have no points.
WATCH THE U-20 AFCON MATCHES LIVE ON Afrosport TV
