South Africa won their maiden CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations title with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Morocco in Sunday night’s final at the June 30 Stadium in Cairo.
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 a U-20 AFCON final since 1997, when they lost to Morocco.
After Kekana’s wonder goal, South Africa soaked up pressure with commendable discipline. Morocco threw men forward in search of an equaliser, but South Africa’s backline led by Tylon Smith and Sfiso Timba held firm.
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.
Kekana’s goal was only their ninth of the campaign, but every strike proved crucial as they edged past DR Congo, Nigeria and now Morocco in the knockout rounds.
Nigeria claimed third place after a dramatic 4-1 penalty shootout victory over tournament hosts Egypt earlier on Sunday.
With the game tied 1-1 after 90 minutes, penalties followed. Nigeria were flawless from the spot, converting all four attempts through Emmanuel Chukwu, Ayuma, Arierhi and Maigana.
Egypt’s Mohamed Atef and Ahmed Kabaka both saw their efforts saved by 15-year-old Nigerian goalkeeper Ebenezer Harcourt, who once again showed maturity beyond his years.
The win marked Nigeria’s fifth bronze medal and 14th top-three finish in U-20 AFCON history. It also continued their impressive record against host nations beating Egypt for the second straight tournament.
—CAF