2025 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations
25th edition of U-20 AFCON
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The 2025 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations, known as the 2025 U20 AFCON for short and as the 2025 TotalEnergies U-20 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship purposes, was the 18th edition (25th if editions of the tournament without hosts are included) of the biennial African international youth football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).[1][2][3]
| كأس أمم إفريقيا تحت 20 سنة 2025 | |
|---|---|
| |
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Egypt |
| Dates | 27 April – 18 May |
| Teams | 13 (from 1 confederation) |
| Venue | 4 (in 3 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  South Africa (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Morocco |
| Third place |  Nigeria |
| Fourth place |  Egypt |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 30 |
| Goals scored | 58 (1.93 per match) |
| Top scorer |  Momoh Kamara (4 goals) |
| Best player | Tylon Smith |
| Best goalkeeper | Fletcher Smythe-Lowe |
| Fair play award | Morocco |
← 2023 2027 → | |
The four semi-finalists also qualified as the CAF representatives for the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile.
Senegal were the defending champions, but were eliminated in the quarter-finals in a penalty shoot-out against Nigeria.
Qualification
Player eligibility
Players born 1 January 2005 or later were eligible to participate in the competition.
Qualified teams
The following 13 teams qualified for the tournament:
| Team | Zone | Date of qualification | Appearance | Last appearance | Previous best performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morocco | North Zone | 23 November 2024 | 6th | 2021 | Champions (1997) |
| Egypt (hosts) | 26 November 2024 | 13th | 2023 | Champions (1991, 2003, 2013) | |
 Tunisia |
10 April 2025 | 3rd | 2023 | Fourth place (2021, 2023) | |
 Senegal | West A Zone | 25 September 2024 | 7th | 2023 | Champions (2023) |
| Sierra Leone | 1st | None | Debut | ||
 Ghana | West B Zone | 27 October 2024 | 13th | 2021 | Champions (1993, 1999, 2009, 2021) |
| Nigeria | 13th | 2023 | Champions (2005, 2011, 2015) | ||
 DR Congo | Central Zone | 1 October 2024 | 2nd | 2013 | Group stage (2013) |
 Central African Republic | 22 March 2025[Note 1] | 3rd | 2023 | Quarter-finals (2021) | |
 Kenya | Central-East Zone | 18 October 2024 | 1st | None | Debut |
 Tanzania | 2nd | 2021 | Group stage (2021) | ||
| South Africa | South Zone | 3 October 2024 | 9th | 2019 | Runners-up (1997) |
 Zambia | 9th | 2023 | Champions (2017) |
Draw
The draw procedure was announced on 10 February 2025.[4] The 13 teams were drawn into one group of five teams and two groups of four teams.[5] Teams are seeded according to their performance in the 2023 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations. Hosts at the time of the draw Ivory Coast were automatically assigned to Position A1 in the draw, later replaced by Egypt. Previous edition winners Senegal were assigned to Position C1 and third place Nigeria were assigned to Position B1. The 3 qualified teams that also participated in the last edition, Congo[Note 1], Egypt (later replaced by Tunisia), and Zambia, were seeded in Pot 1. The rest of the field were placed in Pot 2 to be drawn into the remaining positions.[6][7]
Venues
The host country for the final stage of the edition was decided at the annual 2024 CAF Executive Committee meeting and CAF Awards in Marrakesh, Morocco on 16 December 2024, with CAF appointing Ivory Coast as hosts.[8]
On 26 March 2025, it was announced that Ivory Coast had withdrawn as hosts, also forfeiting their automatic qualification spot. The new host country was not immediately announced.[9][10]
On 27 March 2025, it was announced that Egypt would replace Ivory Coast as hosts. Egypt had previously submitted a bid to host during the initial bidding process. The opening match would also be pushed back one day to 27 April.[11]
| Cairo | Ismailia | Suez | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cairo International Stadium | 30 June Stadium | Suez Canal Stadium | Suez Stadium |
| Capacity: 75,000 | Capacity: 30,000 | Capacity: 22,000 | Capacity: 27,000 |
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Squads
Group stage
Tiebreakers
Teams were ranked according to the three points for a win system (3 points for a win, 1 for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings:
- Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
- Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
- Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
- If more than two teams were tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, if two teams are still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are applied exclusively to these two teams;
- Goal difference in all group matches;
- Goals scored in all group matches;
- Drawing of lots.
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Africa |
4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 7[a] | Knockout stage |
| 2 | Sierra Leone |
4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 7[a] | |
| 3 | Egypt (H) |
4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 7[a] | |
| 4 | Zambia |
4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 6 | |
| 5 | Tanzania |
4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | −4 | 0 |
- Head-to-head records:
- South Africa: 3 pts (1 W, 0 D, 1 L), +2 GD (4 GF, 2 GA)
- Sierra Leone: 3 pts (1 W, 0 D, 1 L), 0 GD (5 GF, 5 GA)
- Egypt: 3 pts (1 W, 0 D, 1 L), −2 GD (2 GF, 4 GA)
| Zambia | 0–0 | Sierra Leone |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Egypt | 1–0 | South Africa |
|---|---|---|
El Hadad  62' |
Report |
| South Africa | 1–0 | Tanzania |
|---|---|---|
| April 27' |
Report |
| Sierra Leone | 4–1 | Egypt |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
| Tanzania | 0–1 | Sierra Leone |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Gandi 37' |
| Sierra Leone | 1–4 | South Africa |
|---|---|---|
| Mom. Kamara 69' |
Report |
| South Africa | 1–1 | Zambia |
|---|---|---|
| Letlhaku 8' |
Report | B. Phiri 12' |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Morocco |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 7 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | Nigeria |
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 5 | |
| 3 | Tunisia |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 3 | |
| 4 | Kenya |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 8 | −3 | 1 |
| Tunisia | 1–3 | Morocco |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
Group C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ghana |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 7 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | Senegal |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 4[a] | |
| 3 | DR Congo |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4[a] | |
| 4 | Central African Republic |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 1 |
- Ranked on head-to-head: Senegal 2–0 DR Congo.
| Senegal | 1–1 | Central African Republic |
|---|---|---|
| Thiam 49' |
Report | Pengazonia 74' |
| DR Congo | 1–1 | Ghana |
|---|---|---|
| Ntanda-Lukisa 16' |
Report | Aziz 24' |
| Central African Republic | 1–3 | DR Congo |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
| Central African Republic | 0–1 | Ghana |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
Ranking of third-placed teams
The ranking of the third-placed teams was determined after removing the results of the team ranked fifth in Group A, which was Tanzania.[4]
Knockout stage
In the knockout stage, extra time and penalty shoot-outs are used to decide the winner if necessary (Regulations Article 75).
Bracket
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 12 May | ||||||||||
| South Africa (a.e.t.) | 1 | |||||||||
| 15 May | ||||||||||
| DR Congo | 0 | |||||||||
| South Africa | 1 | |||||||||
| 12 May | ||||||||||
| Nigeria | 0 | |||||||||
| Nigeria (p) | 0 (3) | |||||||||
| 18 May | ||||||||||
| Senegal | 0 (1) | |||||||||
| South Africa | 1 | |||||||||
| 12 May | ||||||||||
| Morocco | 0 | |||||||||
| Morocco (a.e.t.) | 1 | |||||||||
| 15 May | ||||||||||
| Sierra Leone | 0 | |||||||||
| Morocco | 1 | |||||||||
| 12 May | ||||||||||
| Egypt | 0 | Third place | ||||||||
| Ghana | 2 (4) | |||||||||
| 18 May | ||||||||||
| Egypt (p) | 2 (5) | |||||||||
| Nigeria (p) | 1 (4) | |||||||||
| Egypt | 1 (1) | |||||||||
Quarter-finals
Winners qualify for the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
| Morocco | 1–0 (a.e.t.) | Sierra Leone |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
| South Africa | 1–0 (a.e.t.) | DR Congo |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
Semi-finals
| South Africa | 1–0 | Nigeria |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
| Morocco | 1–0 | Egypt |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
Third place match
Final
| South Africa | 1–0 | Morocco |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
Tournament rankings
| Ranking criteria |
|---|
For teams eliminated in the same knockout round, the following criteria were applied, in the order given, to determine the final rankings:
For teams eliminated in the group stage, the following criteria were applied, in the order given, to determine the final rankings
|
| Pos. | Team | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | GF | GA | GD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Africa |
7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 9 | 3 | +6 | |
| 2 | Morocco |
6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 8 | 4 | +4 | |
| 3 | Nigeria |
6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 0 | |
| 4 | Egypt |
7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 6 | 8 | −2 | |
| Eliminated in the quarter-finals | ||||||||||
| 5 | Ghana |
4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 3 | +2 | |
| 6 | Senegal |
4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 2 | +1 | |
| 7 | Sierra Leone |
5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 0 | |
| 8 | DR Congo |
4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | −1 | |
| Eliminated in the group stage | ||||||||||
| 9 | Tunisia |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | −1 | |
| 10 | Zambia |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | +1 | |
| 11 | Kenya |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 8 | −3 | |
| 12 | Central African Republic |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | −3 | |
| 13 | Tanzania |
4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | −4 | |
Qualified teams for FIFA U-20 World Cup
The following teams from CAF qualified for the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile.
- 1 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.
Notes
- Congo were suspended on 6 February 2025 due to government interference in FECOFOOT operations, and Congo were not included in the draw. After the draw, Central African Republic were named as replacements on 22 March 2025.