Amajita: From African champions to the World Cup knockouts - the rise of South Africa’s Under 20s superstars

Despite winning their first match after their 1993 formation, a 2-0 victory over Swaziland, Amajita struggled to make an impact on the continental and world stages. 

Apart from a second place in 1997 and a fourth place in 2009, South Africa's U20s, if they even qualified for AFCON, fell at the first group stage hurdle.

These AFCON failures meant Amajita only managed to qualify for the World Cup twice in twenty years, and despite matching the current crop by reaching the Round of 16 in 2009, a group stage exit in 1997 was all they had to show for it.

But steady AFCON progress in 2017 (Fourth) and 2019 (Third) was undone by missing the next two tournaments and any chance at World Cup qualifying.  

Since the inception of the DStv Diski Challenge back in 2014, which is the reserve league for the PSL, Amajita have been making gradual progress, establishing themselves as one of the more competitive teams on the continent.

The reserve league has managed to keep the players active and competing at a highly competitive level, while in the past, players relied on friendlies a few days before participating in any tournaments.

Meanwhile, the solid spine of emerging talent in the U20 from players such as Fletcher Lowe, Tylon Smith, Gomolemo Kekana, and Siviwe Magidigidi, under the guidance of coach Raymond Mdaka, has sparked a huge turnaround for Amajita.

The new generation of players has seen Amajita hold their own against other powerhouses on the continent and now across the globe.

Recently, players such as Fletcher Lowe, Gomolemo Kekana, Tylon Smith, and Lazola Maku have emerged as the top talent at the under-20 level. As a result, they have attracted interest from big European leagues alongside many of their teammates.

In the past transfer window, the talented defender, Smith, signed with Championship side QPR in England from Stellenbosch FC.

Meanwhile, the midfield maestro, Kekana, has been promoted to the Sundowns’ senior team after his consistent performances for Amajita. The 19-year-old has already made his first team debut with the reigning PSL champions after making the starting line-up in the league match against Magesi FC.

And then there's Kaizer Chiefs' Mfundo Vilakazi, who gets regular first-team minutes at Naturena.

In their journey to victory in the previous AFCON, Amajita finished the group stages at the summit of a tough Group A with 10 points from four matches. They collected maximum points against the host nation, Egypt, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, and drew with Zambia.

Raymond Mdaka's side beat DR Congo in the quarter-final with a 1-0 win before beating Nigeria in the semi-final with the same score line. 

After displaying an impressive run of form, Amajita went on to claim a 1-0 victory in the final against Morocco, thanks to a stunning goal from Kekana to walk away with their first-ever AFCON title.

There's an old adage that the defences win titles, and that proved to be true for South Africa, returning home with the trophy after only conceding three goals all tournament.

Amajita had a tough start in a tough group at the 2025 World Cup, facing favourites France and emerging with a narrow 2-1 loss.

With the SA youngsters having it all to do to make it to the knockout stages, they redeemed themselves with a 5-0 walloping of New Caledonia in their second match.

The African Champions then defied the odds in the last match of the group stages with a come-from-behind 2-1 win against the USA, qualifying for the Round of 16 as the second-placed team in Group E.

Coming into the crucial tie against the South Americans, South Africa are arguably the favourite to walk away with a victory after showing an impressive scoring form in the group stages.

Amajita has scored nine goals and conceded on just two occasions in three matches. On the other hand, Colombia, were unconvincing Group F winners, only scoring two goals and conceding one as they beat Saudi Arabia 1-0, played a goalless draw against Norway, and also shared spoils with Nigeria with a 1-1 score line.

Despite Colombia proving to be solid at the back with only one goal conceded, Amajita are well-placed to win the encounter with a tried and tested African tournament-winning defence, and an attack that has plundered a whopping nine goals in three matches.