South Africa won their maiden U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title with a 1-0 victory over Morocco in Sunday night’s final at the June 30 Stadium in Cairo, as the Southern Africans claimed the trophy and rewrote history by overcoming a North African opponent in the tournament for the first time.
Gomolemo Kekana’s stunning second-half strike, a powerful right-footed effort from outside the box in the 70th minute, was the decider in a hard-fought contest.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Flying Eagles claimed third place at the U-20 AFCON (Egypt 2025) after a dramatic 4-1 penalty shootout victory over hosts Egypt on Sunday. The third-place playoff had ended 1-1 after 90 minutes – with goals by Egypt’s Osama Omar in the third minute and Bidemi Amole’s equaliser in the 47th minute. The Nigerians kept their nerve in the shootout to secure their fifth bronze medal, and 14th top-three finish, in U-20 AFCON history.
Kekana’s goal capped a superb tournament for South Africa, who had never reached a U-20 AFCON final since 1997, when they lost to Morocco. This time, they flipped the script, avenging that defeat to lift the trophy and become the 12th different nation to win the title. Both sides entered the final unbeaten, boasting some of the tournament’s best defensive records.
Morocco, the more fluid side in the first half, created better chances through Jones El Abdellaoui and Ilias Boumassaoudi, but South African goalkeeper Fletcher Lowe was once again in inspired form. South Africa, who had grown into the competition after losing their opener to Egypt, showed resilience and patience. Shakeel April and Mfundo Vilakazi had half chances, but neither side managed to find the net before the break.
South Africa’s victory marks their first-ever youth continental triumph and adds them to a growing list of recent debut winners, following Senegal’s 2023 success. It also broke their jinx against North African opposition, ending a run of five previous defeats — all by a single goal margin.
The newly crown U-20 AFCON winners scored nine goals in total, with crucial wins over DR Congo, Nigeria and Morocco in the knockout rounds.
For Morocco, despite coming into the final unbeaten in 14 U-20 AFCON matches in open play, the defeat marks a missed opportunity to win a second title.
