Mandla Masango currently in Germany with the Under-20 in preparation for the World Cup to be held in Egypt later this month has warned that people should not under estimate the opponents in their group which include, United Arab Emirates, Honduras, and Hungary.

Mpumalanga-born Masango has been a key player not only for Kaizer Chiefs this season but for the national U-20 team and he will be expected to lead from the front together with some of the great talent South Africa has at its disposal when they hope to emulate the Class of 97 that included the likes of Benni McCarthy, Mathew Booth.

“I tend to differ with the people who think that it will be easy. Football is not easy to predict. When you go out on the field it is a different ball game. It’s tough group because all the teams are ‘closed books’: we don’t know much about them and they don’t know us. It will be tough against those particular countries in our group.

“Bullet”, as the player is affectionately known, believes though the first game against UAE will be crucial, “In any tournament, the first game is the most crucial. Once you win that one you become motivated and confident and can look ahead to qualifying for the second round. If you lose you still have a second chance but we will definitely be going all out for that first game against UAE.

Amajita as the South African U-20 side is known, will take on German counter parts on Saturday, 5 September as coach Serame Letsoaka intensifies preparations for the U-20 World Cup.

The interview with Mandla Masango has been published in the latest copy of Amakhosi magazine currently on the shelves!