The South African Under 20 Men’s National team (Amajita) secured a third place finish at the 8-Nation International Tournament after beating Japan seven-six (7-6) on penaltiesin a game that ended one-all (1-1).

The two sides appeared evenly matched in the opening stages. It was a case of like against like as both sets of players displayed good technical skill and speed on and off the ball.

The closest either team came to scoring early on was after 11 minutes when Amajita midfielder Jino Moeketsi turned to face his own goal and sent an attempted back-pass just a metre wide of his own goal.

The Athlone Stadium in Cape Town on Friday, 01 June 2012 was witness to a thrilling 8-Nation International Tournament semi-final which saw Brazil inching out South Africa 4-3 on penalties after the match had ended 2-2 after extra time.

Amajita, spurred on by a lively and sizable home crowd, took the game to their more illustrious opponents in the opening 20 minutes.

The South Africans played some incisive, exciting football, at times mesmerising their opponents with the skill and pace of their attacks.

Snethemba Ngidi, Thabanbi Mthembu and Cebo Meyiwa were particularly prominent for the host nation in a storming opening, during which time their best chance saw Junior Sibande volleying a corner kick straight at the Brazil keeper.

Cameroon secured their first win of the 8-Nation International Tournament with a 2-0 victory over Kenya at the Athlone Stadium on Wednesday (30 May) night.

The match was all about pride, and the avoidance of finishing bottom of Group B, with neither side able to challenge for a place in the semi-finals after both losing their two opening matches.

Cameroon had the first chance of the game when Pierre Balliang fired in a powerful drive from the left hand side of the box, Kenyan keeper Joel Bataro only just able to get enough of a hand to be able to divert the ball away from goal.

The final Group A match of the 8-Nation International tournament ended in 0-0 draw between Argentina and Ghana in a match played at a cold Cape Town Stadium on Tuesday (29 May) night.

The result sees Argentina being joined by South Africa as the two teams from Group A who will advance to the semi-finals on Friday night, where they will be joined by Brazil and Japan.

The first half was a tight affair with neither side able to carve out opportunities in the respective final thirds of the field.

The quality of play out on the park was excellent, but the commitment levels by both sides and the good organization of the respective units meant that goal chances did not materialise.

The South Africa Under-20 Men's National team (Amajita) secured a 1-0 win over Nigeria in a 8-Nation International tournament game at the Cape Town Stadium on Tuesday (29 May) evening.

Solly Luvhengo’s side were on top for most of the night, but missed a string of chances before finally securing the win five minutes from time.

The game started at a fast pace, with both teams playing attacking and free-flowing football.

Around the 15 minute mark the home side began to string their combinations together, with Asive Langwe and Snethemba Ngidi prominent.

Japan picked up their second successive win in the 8-Nation International Tournament at Athlone on Monday (28 May) night with a 2-1 victory over Cameroon.

The second game of the evening served up a dish of high quality football, with Japan leading the way with some scintillating soccer on the night.

The Japanese managed to find their rhythm and combinations early on, looking sharp and inventive on the ball.

After five minutes an intricate and quickly executed move inside the Cameroon box saw the ball worked to Ryuji Hirota, but from a tight angle he shot across goal

Kenya proved no match for Brazil as the South Americans cantered to a 4-0 win in an 8-Nation International tournament Group B game played at the Athlone Stadium on Monday night.

It took Brazil just five minutes to turn their early dominance into a goal, when central defender Luan Teixeira got up high to head home a corner kick.

Two minutes later and the South Americans were close to adding a second when midfield playmaker Misael Bueno curled a shot into the cross-bar from 18-yards out.

The team in yellow continued to dominate proceedings, with some very neat triangle football making Kenya work hard, while entertaining the crowd.

The South African Under-20 bounced back from their defeat to Argentina in scintillating style with a 2-0 win over Ghana in an 8-Nation International tournament game played at Cape Town Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Ghana had looked a very strong side in their 3-2 win over Nigeria at Athlone on Friday, but couldn’t come anywhere near to replicating that performance, finding themselves surprised by the purpose and intensity of the home side, who were outstanding on the day and could even have won by three or four goals.

It was South Africa who dominated the first half, by far enjoying the better and more frequent chances on goal, and their two goal lead at half time was well deserved.

Nigeria’s chances of reaching the semi-finals of the 8-Nation International tournament became rather slim after they lost 1-0 to Argentina at the Cape Town Stadium on Sunday (27 May) evening.

The Nigerians have now lost their opening two games - to Ghana and Argentina, who have six points after beating South Africa in their opener.

The first half saw Argentina dictating the play, but for the most part failing to penetrate a well organised Nigeria defence.

The Flying Eagles for the most part were confined to their own half, but did not find themselves under any undue pressure as the South Americans struggled to find the final ball needed to unlock the defence.

A nine-man Brazil held on to beat Cameroon by one goal to nil (1-0) in an evenly contested 8-Nation International tournament Group B game played at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday (26 May) evening.

It was a tight game throughout as the African side gave as good as they got and pushed hard for an equaliser during the final 30 minutes, during which time Brazil’s numbers were reduced to 10, and then nine, after two red cards.

After an initial burst of a bright start by Cameroon, it was the South American side that settled comfortably into their passing rhythm.