National Teams
Africa’s quartet complete FIFA U-20 World Cup line up
By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde
The lineup for the Final Tournament of the 24th FIFA U20 World Cup, set to take place in Chile from September 27 to October 19, is now finalized with the inclusion of four African teams.
Leading the African representation is Nigeria, a two-time runner-up and one-time bronze medalist, accompanied by Egypt, Morocco, and South Africa.
Notably, Ghana, the sole African nation to have claimed the championship title in 1999 when hosted by Egypt, was unable to qualify for this year’s finals after being eliminated by Egypt in a penalty shootout during the quarter-finals of the ongoing African tournament.
Historically, Nigeria has faced challenges in the finals, having been defeated by Portugal in 1989 in Saudi Arabia and by Argentina in 2005 in the Netherlands.
Additionally, after a semi-final loss to Brazil in 1985, the Flying Eagles secured a bronze medal by overcoming the host nation, the USSR, in a penalty shootout.
ALL THE FINALISTS FOR CHILE 2025
Chile, Nigeria, Egypt, Morocco, South Africa, Australia, Japan, Saudi
Arabia, Korea Republic, France, Italy, Spain, Norway, Ukraine, USA,
Mexico, Panama, Cuba, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay, New Zealand
& New Caledonia
