U-20 FOOTBALL
Morocco, South Africa ready for battle in U20 AFCON final
South Africa and Morocco will contest the final of the Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations at the 30 June Stadium in Cairo on Sunday, a repeat of the 1997 decider between the two.
It is the second time each has reached this stage of the tournament, with Morocco, as hosts, victorious in their previous final as they beat South Africa 1-0 to claim their only title to date.
South Africa have never beaten North African opposition at the tournament, losing all five encounters.
In addition to the 1997 final, they have suffered four 1-0 defeats to Egypt in the group stages of 2001, 2009, 2011, and 2025. All five defeats have been by a single goal, with four ending 1-0.
Morocco boast a perfect record against Southern African teams, having beaten South Africa in the 1997 final and secured group-stage wins over Lesotho (2-0) and Angola (1-0) in 2005.
This is South Africa’s fifth final across CAF youth and senior tournaments. They previously reached the senior finals in 1996 and 1998, defeating Tunisia and losing to Egypt, respectively.
At U-20 level, they lost the 1997 final to Morocco. A win this time would make them the 12th different nation to lift the trophy and the second from Southern Africa after Zambia in 2017.
It would also mark the second successive edition to crown a first-time winner, after Senegal’s triumph in 2023. In fact, four of the last five winners have lifted the trophy for the first time.
Both teams followed identical knockout paths to the final: extra-time wins in the quarterfinals and 1-0 victories in regulation time in the semifinals.
South Africa beat DR Congo after extra time and then Nigeria, while Morocco edged Sierra Leone in extra time before defeating hosts Egypt.
This is the fifth U-20 AFCON tournament hosted in North Africa since the switch to a single-format in 1991. Egypt hosted in 1991, 2023, and 2025, while Morocco and Algeria hosted in 1997 and 2013 respectively.
In each of the three editions where a North African team reached the final on home soil (1991, 1997, 2013), they won the title. The 2025 final is only the second, after 1997, to feature a Southern African team against a North African team, and the first final since 1997 without a West African participant.
Of the previous 24 finals, none have ended goalless. Four went to extra time, with two settled in open play – Egypt’s 4-3 win over Côte d’Ivoire in 2003 and Nigeria’s 3-2 win over Cameroon in 2011. Two others, in 2013 and 2019, were decided by penalties. Since 1991, 13 of 17 finals have been settled in 90 minutes.
The most common scoreline in finals has been 2-0, occurring nine times. The highest-scoring final was in 2003, with seven goals.
SOUTH AFRICA FACTS
· South Africa reached the final after a 1-0 win over Nigeria. It is the first time they have won four matches in a single edition, including three 1-0 victories and a 4-1 win over Sierra Leone.
· After failing to score in their opener, they have netted eight goals across their next five games and conceded only twice. They are unbeaten in their last five matches, having lost their opener to Egypt, and have kept three clean sheets – their joint-best tally at a single edition.
· Goalkeeper Fletcher Lowe has been key, making 24 saves, the most in the tournament.
· Tylon Smith’s goal against Nigeria, assisted by Neo Rapoo, was his first of the tournament and South Africa’s eighth. Smith is one of six different scorers for the team.
· Rapoo, along with Shakeel April, has two assists and three total goal involvements. South Africa have won more duels (297 to Morocco’s 266) and more tackles (64 to 53), with a better tackle success rate (71.9% to 63.9%).
· Historically, South Africa had never won a knockout match in open play before this edition. Their only previous successes came in penalty shootouts – against Ghana in the 1997 semifinal and Nigeria in the 2019 third-place match. At this edition, they have won both knockout matches in regulation or extra time.
MOROCCO FACTS
· Morocco reached the final by defeating Kenya (3-2), drawing with Nigeria (0-0), and beating Tunisia (3-1) in the group stage. They then won 1-0 after extra time against Sierra Leone and beat Egypt 1-0 in the semifinals.
· Prior to 2025, Morocco had never won a knockout match outside their home soil.
· Unbeaten in their last 14 matches in open play at the U-20 AFCON (W8 D6), Morocco’s last defeat in open play came in 2003, a 4-0 group-stage loss to Egypt.
· All four of their past penalty shootouts have ended in defeat. This is the first time they’ve reached the final without a group-stage loss.
· Morocco, like South Africa, have scored eight goals with six different players contributing. Jones El Abdellaoui and Yassir Zabiri lead the team with two goals each. El Abdellaoui scored the semifinal winner as a substitute – both his goals have come off the bench.
· Hossam Essadak has created 11 chances, more than any other Moroccan player.
· In the semifinal win over Egypt, Morocco did not face a single shot on target. They have conceded just three goals and faced 18 shots on target across five matches.
· Their shot conversion rate (15.38%) slightly edges South Africa’s (14.55%). Notably, six of Morocco’s eight goals have come after halftime, with five in the second half and one in extra time.
· They have yet to score in the opening 40 minutes of any match.
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It is a transcontinental rivalry that is fast spreading across all competitions. From the FIFA World Cup to the football tournament of the Olympics, the King Fahd Intercontinental Cup later redesignated as Confederation Cup, the U-17 World Cup, the U-20 World Cup and friendly matches – Argentina and Nigeria are fast becoming fierce rivals.
And so, for the third time in history, Nigeria and Argentina will go head-to-head at the FIFA U-20 World Cup, as they clash in a highly anticipated Round of 16 encounter at the Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos in Santiago, Chile, on Wednesday. Kickoff is set for 8:30 p.m. Nigerian time.
The Flying Eagles delegation arrive in Santiago
The fixture rekindles one of youth football’s most captivating rivalries, with both nations boasting rich histories at the global stage.
Their most recent meeting came two years ago when Nigeria stunned hosts Argentina 2-0 in the Round of 16 — a result that sent shockwaves across the tournament. Goals from Ibrahim Muhammad and Haliru Sarki sealed that famous win, propelling the Flying Eagles into the quarter-finals before they bowed out to the Republic of Korea after extra time.
The rivalry dates back decades. In the 2005 final in the Netherlands, Argentina triumphed 2-1 over Nigeria thanks to two penalty goals from Lionel Messi, while Chinedu Ogbuke Obasi struck a memorable goal for the Flying Eagles.
Argentina remain the most successful nation in the tournament’s history with six titles, while Nigeria have reached the final twice (1989 and 2005) and claimed bronze in 1985.
Despite the Albiceleste’s pedigree, the Flying Eagles — seven-time African champions — will take to the pitch in Santiago with belief and determination, buoyed by a strong group-stage showing. Coach Aliyu Zubair’s men collected four points from their three matches, including a spirited 1-1 draw with Colombia, in which Nigeria struck the crossbar three times before captain Daniel Bameyi coolly converted a late penalty.
That performance, built on resilience and attacking flair, has strengthened confidence within the Nigerian camp. However, Zubair will have to make at least one change in attack as Suleman Sani is suspended after receiving two yellow cards in the group stage.
The Flying Eagles arrived in Santiago from Talca on Monday evening and will hold a final training session on Tuesday ahead of their showdown with the South American giants.
With history, pride, and a place in the quarter-finals at stake, Wednesday’s clash promises another thrilling chapter in the long-running Nigeria–Argentina football rivalry.
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Nigeria’s Flying Eagles will take to the pitch in a make-or-break Group F encounter against Colombia at the ongoing FIFA U20 World Cup in Chile on Sunday night in Chile, but Monday morning in Nigeria.
The game carries huge stakes for both teams. Nigeria must win to secure a top-two finish and automatic passage to the Round of 16. A draw or defeat would confine them to third place, leaving qualification dependent on results from other groups.
Colombia, on the other hand, need only a draw to confirm their place in the knockout stage after a steady start to their campaign.
The South Americans are expected to approach the match with caution, aware that avoiding defeat will be enough to advance.
Nigeria’s coach Aliyu Zubairu is expected to rally his players for one final push, knowing that victory is the only guarantee for survival in the competition. Fans back home will be watching closely in the early hours of Monday, hoping the Flying Eagles can rise to the occasion and keep their World Cup hopes alive.
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Morocco’s return to the FIFA U-20 World Cup after two decades has found a face: Othmane Maamma.
In two group matches the 19-year-old has provided the decisive moments that have taken the Atlas Cubs from dark horses to group winners, first shredding Spain down the right and then stunning Brazil with a scissor-kick of rare audacity. If this is a tournament that forges futures, Maamma looks forged already.
The Watford forward (signed from Montpellier in July) has been Morocco’s spearhead and safety valve in Chile: a direct runner on the shoulder, happy to carry 30 metres in transition, and ruthless when the window opens.
Against Spain he turned defence into incision, burning his full-back to square for Gessime Yassine’s clincher in a 2-0 win.
Four days later, with Brazil squeezing, he improvised the goal of the night — opening his body to acrobatically volley in Gessime’s deep cross — and tilted a heavyweight contest Morocco’s way in a 2-1 victory that sealed qualification.
Maamma’s impact has been as much about tone as numbers. Morocco have been compact and pragmatic without the ball, then startlingly vertical when it’s won. That suits a winger who relishes space and duels.
“I like to sit on the shoulders of the defenders and exploit space. I like one-on-ones, when I can use my acceleration to gain that extra space,” he explained earlier in the week in an interview with FIFA.com.
It’s exactly what head coach Mohamed Ouahbi has asked for: narrow lines to deny passing lanes, then release the wide players quickly and with purpose.
Just as striking has been the teenager’s calm. “Football is football. It doesn’t matter where or who you’re up against,” Maamma said after the Spain game. “You just need to keep a cool head and your emotions in check.”
The message never changed ahead of Brazil either. “I speak of Brazil just as I spoke of Spain. It’s going to be another big game. We’ll do absolutely everything we can to win.” The delivery matched the rhetoric.
Technically, Maamma mixes old-school winger values with modern versatility. He can start wide right and drive outside to cross, drift infield to combine off the nine, or attack the back post from the far side — the movement that produced his bicycle-style strike against Brazil.
At 1.82m, he carries aerial threat and protects the ball better than many pure sprinters; his first touch is typically forward, his second decisive.
This tournament has also underlined how carefully Morocco have built a pathway. Maamma debuted for Montpellier in May 2024, collecting 14 Ligue 1 appearances (two goals, one assist) before Watford moved in the summer, seeing a profile to develop rather than a finished article.
In Chile he has been deployed with clarity. The system demands defensive shifts, then trusts him to decide the transition: carry or combine. His assist versus Spain and finish versus Brazil are two sides of the same coin.
Around him, a coherent team is growing. Yassir Zabiri has provided punch in the inside-left channel, Yassine’s volume of work has made others quicker, while the back line has absorbed pressure with mature discipline.
Ouahbi has tried to keep a lid on the mood — “We’re happy. But it’s only three points, we haven’t achieved anything yet… We want more. Confidence is growing, but we’re going to try to stay humble,” he said after beating Spain — yet even he will recognise how the right talent in the right structure can accelerate belief.
Where does this go next? In the short term, to a last-16 tie with a very different kind of pressure: expectation. Opponents will drop five yards deeper, full-backs will be less adventurous, and the space Maamma feasted on may shrink.
The next step in his tournament will be about variety — receiving to feet and combining in tighter corridors, drawing fouls, and making set plays count. Through two tests, he’s shown the decision-making to adapt.
In the longer view, it’s hard not to project forward. Morocco’s senior side has set a new standard for North African football in recent years; the conveyor belt below them is the point.
A winger who can both hurt elite opponents in transition and contribute in structured possession is a profile every national coach covets. On Chilean evidence, Maamma belongs in that conversation sooner rather than later.
For now, the brief remains simple: keep doing what’s working. Beat your man. Choose the moment. Trust the plan.
In a World Cup that often belongs to the cool-headed, Othmane Maamma has already shown he can decide games without hurry. Morocco have a star for this tournament — and, just maybe, a pillar for the next decade.
-CAFonline
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