South Africa edges Morocco to win first-ever U-20 Africa Cup of Nations

For the first time, South Africa are champions of the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations after overcoming Morocco with a 1-0 victory in Sunday’s final of the 2025 edition at the Cairo International Stadium in Cairo, Egypt.

Gomolemo Kekana’s long distance strike in the 70th minute was enough for Amajita to defeat the Atlas Lion Cubs on Sunday. It was an even match throughout with opportunities for both sides but a defensive mistake and moment of high quality from Kekana gave South Africa top honors at the competition hosted by Egypt.

In the first half, both goalkeepers passed tests with Fletcher Smythe-Lowe and his Moroccan counterpart, Yanis Benchaouch, doing well to keep the match scoreless by halftime.

It was Smythe-Lowe, the Man of the Match at full time, who assisted the tournament-winning goal. The goalkeeper’s punt was poorly dealt with by the Moroccan defense, allowing Kekana to get behind. With the Moroccan defense recovering, Kekana created space and curled his shot past Benchaouch.

A furious attempt to rally from Morocco came just short with Othmane Maamma heading wide of an empty goal from Hamza Koutoune’s excellent cross in the 83rd minute.

It is South Africa’s first African title in a men’s national team competition since the senior national team won the Africa Cup of Nations in 1996. South Africa and Morocco are joined by Egypt and Nigeria as the African representatives at the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile which begins in late September.