South Africa national under-20 soccer team

The South Africa national under-20 football team (Amajita), is a youth football (soccer) team, which represents South Africa and is controlled by the South African Football Association, the governing body for football in South Africa. The team's main objectives are to qualify and play at the African Youth Championship and FIFA U-20 World Cup. The team has played at seven African Youth Championships and three FIFA U-20 World Cups.

South Africa under-20
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Amajita (The Boys)
AssociationSouth African
Football Association
ConfederationCAF (Africa)
Sub-confederationCOSAFA
Head coachRaymond Mdaka
FIFA codeRSA
First colours
Second colours
First international
South Africa 2–0 Swaziland
(Somhlolo, Swaziland; 11 December 1993)[1]
Biggest win
South Africa 8–0 Lesotho
(Moruleng, South Africa; 7 December 2016)
FIFA U-20 World Cup
Appearances4 (first in 1997)
Best resultRound of 16 (2009)

History

The team was started in 1993, when SAFA decided to form an under-20 team. The team's greatest achievements to date include a second-place finish at the 1997 African Youth Championship, hosted in Morocco and qualifying for the 1997, 2009 and 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup and 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup[2].[3]

Player eligibility

Players who are selected, will be 20 or younger in the following World Cup year. With the next FIFA U-20 World Cup being held in Poland in 2019, players need to have been born on or after 1 January 1999.

Schedule and recent results

The following is a list of matches from the past twenty-four months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Date Team Result Score Competition Location
12 December 2016  Botswana W 1-0 2016 COSAFA U-20 Cup South Africa Moruleng Stadium, Moruleng, South Africa
14 December 2016  Angola W 5-0 2016 COSAFA U-20 Cup Semi-final South Africa Moruleng Stadium, Moruleng, South Africa
16 December 2016  Zambia W 2-1 2016 COSAFA U-20 Cup Final South Africa Moruleng Stadium, Moruleng, South Africa
12 February 2017  Zambia L 1-2 Friendly Zambia Nkoloma Stadium, Lusaka, Zambia
19 February 2017  Mali D 1-1 Friendly South Africa Peter Mokaba Stadium, Limpopo, South Africa
27 February 2017  Cameroon W 3-1 2017 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations Zambia Levy Mwanawasa Stadium, Ndola, Zambia
2 March 2017  Senegal L 3-4 2017 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations Zambia Levy Mwanawasa Stadium, Ndola, Zambia
5 March 2017  Sudan W 3-1 2017 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations Zambia Levy Mwanawasa Stadium, Ndola, Zambia
8 March 2017  Zambia L 0-1 (a.e.t.) 2017 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations Semi-final Zambia National Heroes Stadium, Lusaka, Zambia
12 March 2017  Guinea L 1-2 2017 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations Zambia National Heroes Stadium, Lusaka, Zambia

Current squad

The following 21 players are selected for the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup to be held in Poland between 23 May – 15 June 2019.[4]

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Club
1 1GK Zwelithini Matlaba (1999-10-30) 30 October 1999 South Africa Orlando Pirates
2 2DF Samson Mbuyane (1999-05-27) 27 May 1999 South Africa Ajax Cape Town
3 2DF Dumisani Mthembu (1999-12-20) 20 December 1999 South Africa Cape Umoya
4 2DF Nhlanhla Sithole (1999-02-06) 6 February 1999 South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns
5 2DF Edgar Nxumalo (1999-04-14) 14 April 1999 South Africa AmaZulu
6 2DF Kingsley Gwala (1999-03-03) 3 March 1999 South Africa Orlando Pirates
7 3MF Siyabonga Ntshangase (2003-11-13) 13 November 2003 South Africa Orlando Pirates
8 3MF Oswald Mkhize (1999-12-11) 11 December 1999 South Africa Kaizer Chiefs
9 3MF Mthokozisi Dlamini (2001-08-25) 25 August 2001 South Africa SuperSport United
10 4FW Bongani Ntuli (2000-09-03) 3 September 2000 Portugal Vitória Guimarães
11 4FW Jabulani Mbeki (2003-05-18) 18 May 2003 South Africa Real Kings F.C.
12 4FW Christopher Mabaso (2000-04-30) 30 April 2000 South Africa Orlando Pirates
13 2DF Augustine Mofokeng (2000-02-07) 7 February 2000 South Africa Bidvest Wits
14 3MF Lehlohonolo Mphahlele (2000-03-10) 10 March 2000 South Africa SuperSport United
15 3MF Ayanda Ngubane (1999-02-05) 5 February 1999 South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns
16 1GK Destiny Ndlovu (2000-03-27) 27 March 2000 South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns
17 3MF Moeketsi Radebe (1999-11-08) 8 November 1999 South Africa Real Kings
18 4FW Clyde Ramabulana (1999-01-08) 8 January 1999 Netherlands Jong Ajax
19 3MF Shaun Ratshikhopha (1999-08-28) 28 August 1999 Portugal Braga
20 1GK Nkhangweni Tshivhase (1999-01-07) 7 January 1999 South Africa Cape Umoya
21 2DF Lindokuhle Buthelezi (1999-02-24) 24 February 1999 South Africa Mamelodi Sundowns

Notable former players

Players who have previously played for the under-20 team, and have since gone on to play for the senior team:

Tournament records

FIFA U-20 World Cup record
U-20 World Cup
Hosts/Year Result Position GP W D* L GS GA
1977-1993Banned
Qatar 1995did not qualify
Malaysia 1997Group Stage20th301226
1999 to 2007did not qualify
Egypt 2009Round of 1615th411258
Colombia 2011did not qualify
Turkey 2013
New Zealand 2015
South Korea 2017Group Stage21st301214
Poland 2019Group Stage19th301237
Argentina 2023did not qualify
Chile 2025to be determined
Round of 16 4/24 13 1 4 8 11 25

Africa U-20 Cup of Nations record
Africa U-20 Cup of Nations
Hosts/Year Result GP W D* L GS GA
1979 to 1993did not enter
Nigeria 1995did not qualify
Morocco 1997Second Place521255
Ghana 1999did not qualify
Ethiopia 2001Group Stage301237
Burkina Faso 2003Group Stage301237
Benin 2005did not qualify
Republic of the Congo 2007
Rwanda 2009Fourth Place520389
South Africa 2011Group Stage310246
Algeria 2013did not qualify
Senegal 2015Group Stage310266
Zambia 2017Fourth Place5204109
Niger 2019Third Place513022
Mauritania 2021did not qualify
Egypt 2023

COSAFA U-20 Challenge Cup record
COSAFA U-20 Cup
Hosts/Year Result GP W D* L GS GA
1983-1990did not enter------
Eswatini 1993Quarter-finals420283
Lesotho 1995Runners-up513133
Botswana 1997Unknown??????
South Africa 1999Runners-up6411156
South Africa 2000Champions541061
South Africa 2001Unknown??????
South Africa 2002Unknown??????
South Africa 2003Unknown??????
South Africa 2004Champions??????
South Africa 2005Unknown??????
South Africa 2006Champions??????
South Africa 2007Runners-up??????
South Africa 2008Champions??????
South Africa 2009Champions4400161
South Africa 2010Group Stage200214
Lesotho 2013Champions541070
South Africa 2016Runners-up5401162

References
  1. "Under-20 National Team". Retrieved 3 January 2011.
  2. "FIFA U-20 World Cup Korea Republic 2017™: South Africa". www.fifa.com. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  3. "FIFA U-20 World Cup Poland 2019™: South Africa". www.fifa.com. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  4. "Amajita's 21-man FIFA WC squad announced". safa.net. SAFA. 14 May 2019. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
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