Julius OkorieSouth Africa achieved their age-long desire on Sunday night, winning their maiden U-20 AFCON title at the expense of hard fighting Morocco.
The hard-fought 1-0 victory over Morocco at the June 30 Stadium in Cairo marked a major relief for South Africa who have been struggling for a long time to lay hands on the trophy which Nigeria has continued to lead as highest winner of the competition with seven titles in the kitty.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelAmajitas’ Gomolemo Kekana’s stunning second-half strike proved decisive, as the Southern Africans claimed the trophy and rewrote history by overcoming a North African opponent in the tournament for the first time.
The only goal of the final came in the 70th minute, when Kekana unleashed a powerful right-footed effort from outside the box, bending the ball into the top corner.
The goal, awarded after a VAR review, broke the deadlock in a tense contest dominated by tactical discipline and defensive organisation.
Kekana’s goal capped a superb tournament for South Africa, who had never reached an 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 improved considerably 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.
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It also broke their jinx against North African opposition, ending a run of five previous defeats — all by a single goal margin.
Fletcher Lowe ended the tournament with the most saves (24), underlining South Africa’s defensive resolve.
Kekana’s goal was only their ninth of the campaign, but every strike proved crucial as they edged past DR Congo, Nigeria and then came the icing on the cake with final victory over Morocco
For Morocco, the defeat marks a missed opportunity to win a second title. They came into the final unbeaten in 14 U-20 AFCON matches in open play, but Sunday’s loss, their first defeat of the tournament was a hit below the belt coming in the final.
The hard working side will now be looking foward to the next edition to achieve their dream of winning a second title.
With the trophy now won and lost at the continental level, the quartet of South Africa, Morocco, Nigeria and Egypt will now begin to shape up for the FIFA U-20 World Cup billed for Chile later in the year.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
