South Sudan coach Peter James is confident they will triumph when they take on Central African Republic on Thursday stressing they need the points more than their opponents.
Young Brights Stars, who are competing in their maiden TotalEnergies U-20 Africa Cup of Nations, lost their first match 2-1 against the Red Devils of Congo in Group B.
Both sides are seeking their first points of the ongoing tournament in Egypt and James says his team has no other option than to win at the Suez Canal Stadium.
“Tomorrow’s game to me it’s a one-way game because we did all the necessary preparations to win tomorrow,” James said at the pre-match press conference.
“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,” he said.
The Young Bright Stars coach provided some positive news regarding defenders Safino Lado and Bul James Anyang and forward Abishai following their injuries against Congo.
“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.
“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,” he added.
Paul Mara inked his name in the history books of the TotalEnergies U-20 Africa Cup of Nations when he scored South Sudan’s first ever goal at the tournament to pull one back against Congo.
His team-mate Kenyi Wani says winning against the Les Fauves will be important to boost their chances in the tournament.
“Securing our first victory will be very important for us because we lost the first match, and we really must win the match tomorrow so that we secure our place in the competition,” the youngster said.
“Our fans back home and abroad expect much from us, so we really must secure a win and make them happy and proud. We hope that we shall do better despite the challenges we faced against Congo with the injuries to our players.
“The injuries affected us a lot because they’re all starters and towards the end of the match we also lost our striker and we had the problem of playing with less.” - Confédération Africaine de Football
