South Africa Wins CAF U-20 AFCON Cup, Nigeria Takes Home Bronze

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – 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.

This time, they flipped the script, avenging that defeat to lift the trophy and become the 12th different nation to win the title.

Meanwhile, Nigeria edge Egypt on penalties to claim the U-20 AFCON bronze

The third-place playoff at the 30 June Stadium in Cairo ended 1-1 after 90 minutes, before Nigeria kept their nerve in the shootout to secure their fifth bronze medal in U-20 AFCON history.

It was a clash between two sides aiming to finish the tournament on a high after missing out on the final.

Osama Omar put Egypt ahead early in the third minute, but Nigeria equalised shortly after the restart through Bidemi Amole.

With no extra time played in the third-place match, penalties were required, and the Flying Eagles converted all four of their spot-kicks, while Egypt missed two.

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