African champions Amajita target knockout-round minimum at U-20 soccer World Cup

It’s the first time that South Africa will enter the Fifa U-20 World Cup as African champions. This detail has added an extra spring to Raymond Mdaka’s team as they prepare to showcase the future of South African soccer on the global stage. 

Amajita, as South Africa’s U-20 side is colloquially known, head into their fifth World Cup on the back of winning their maiden Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) trophy. They achieved this in May 2025. 

Amajita’s previous best performance at a World Cup was reaching the round of 16 in 2009. When they participated in 1997, 2017 and 2019 they could not navigate past the group stage.

Poor prep… but 

In 2025, Mdaka is confident that this crop of players can produce something special. For the Chile-hosted 2025 edition, Amajita are in Group E. They will face France, the US and debutants New Caledonia. 

“We are the African champions. So, we would not go there just to be walking in the park or just to be spectators. We are going there to compete and give our best, especially with the level of competition we will find,” Mdaka told journalists. 

The coach was speaking during a farewell event for the team, hosted by the South African Football Association (Safa) and sponsor Honor. This took place on Monday, 22 September 2025 in Hyde Park. 

Despite his clear frustration at his players not having any international friendlies to sharpen up before the tournament, Mdaka avoided criticising his employers Safa for the less-than-ideal preparation. 

“In terms of conditioning, the advantage we have is that most players are playing regularly for their teams, and that is going to help us a lot,” Mdaka said.

“In terms of preparations in the form of a very good camp, we did not have that. But let’s not cry foul. Let’s [make] do with what we have. We would have loved to play an international friendly with a team similar to what we are going to play against there. But it did not happen,” the coach said.  

Tough fixtures

Despite the poor preparation, there is clear camaraderie within the player group. This chemistry and unity will aid them in their quest to navigate as far as possible at the World Cup. Possibly to heights that their predecessors failed to reach.

France will be Amajita’s first assignment in Group E, as well as being their toughest. Even stealing a point from the Europeans would be an important result for South Africa’s lofty ambitions. That match is on Monday, 29 September, with a 10pm kick-off.

Their second fixture, against New Caledonia, is a must-win. This takes place on Friday, 3 October at 1am. The US will be no pushovers when they come into view at 10pm on 5 October. But South Africa will also be targeting another positive result in that encounter.  

Together they stand

According to Durban City midfielder Patrick Autata, Amajita will respect all their opponents. But they will show the same hunger and tenacity that led to them being crowned princes of African soccer.  

“We’ve not really done any analysis on the opposition that we are going to face. We’ve been working a lot on technical and tactical aspects, such as shape and how we move on and off the ball,” Autata said.

“But the lesson we learned as a team from the Afcon going into the World Cup is that we should not underestimate anyone. Because the boys are hungry, the boys are looking for work

“So, everyone is just going to be at 100%, trying to showcase their talent. Obviously, scouts will be there. Names don’t matter, whether the country is a so-called small country, we are just going to treat the opponent the very same way and treat the game the same way.”

Global platform

Indeed, the tournament will be a great platform for the participating players to showcase their skills — with the hope of landing lucrative international contracts. 

Defender Tylon Smith was snapped up by English side Queens Park Rangers following a stellar U-20 Afcon where he was named Player of the Tournament. 

An Amajita player who is already based abroad is goalkeeper Fletcher Smythe-Lowe. The young glovesman plays for Portuguese top-flight side Estoril Praia — where he represents the U-23 team. 

The 18-year-old talent wants to use the World Cup to further boost his profile and feels that Amajita are in a great space to perform. At the Afcon Smythe-Lowe was crowned best goalkeeper, a major confidence booster for him. 

“We are all very confident [of doing well]. The individual accolades are nice, but they would not be possible without everyone in the team. It starts with the press [from the attackers], to the defence. Obviously, if I can help it’s really nice,” Smythe-Lowe said. 

At the World Cup, Smythe-Lowe and his teammates will have to dig even deeper than they did at Afcon. The rewards for that tenacity, if they tap into it, would be tenfold. DM