South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, Morocco learn U-20 World Cup opponents tonight
The four African representatives at the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2025—South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, and Morocco—will discover their group stage opponents tonight when the official draw is held in Santiago, Chile.
The ceremony is scheduled to begin at 22:00 GMT.
Twenty-four nations will be drawn into six groups of four, kicking off the countdown to the global showpiece that will take place from 27 September to 19 October 2025 across Chile.
South Africa enter the draw as African champions after a resilient campaign at the TotalEnergies U-20 Africa Cup of Nations, which culminated in a 1-0 win over Morocco in the final in Cairo.
Their reward is a place in Pot 3, alongside Japan, Spain, Australia, Panama, and Norway, ensuring they avoid these teams in the group phase.
Nigeria, a powerhouse in youth football and third-place finishers at the U-20 AFCON, benefit from their strong pedigree and are placed in Pot 2.
The Flying Eagles join heavyweights such as France, Argentina, and Mexico in that pot, meaning they won’t face any of those sides in the initial round.
Egypt and Morocco, both semi-finalists at the continental tournament, find themselves in Pot 4.
Their lower seeding, due to fewer recent appearances at the U-20 World Cup, increases the likelihood of drawing multiple top-ranked nations, including tournament hosts Chile or former champions Brazil and Italy from Pot 1.
With top talents such as Tylon Smith—South Africa’s Player of the Tournament—and Moroccan winger Jones El-Abdellaoui set to feature, the African quartet will be keenly watching as their journey in Chile begins to take shape tonight.
Africa has a rich history in youth tournaments, and with all four sides showing promise during qualifying, expectations are high for a strong showing.
The draw will determine whether the continent’s finest young stars can rise to the challenge on the global stage.
Fans across the continent can follow news on CAFOnline.com as the path to Chile 2025 officially begins.
Draw procedures
The nations will be drawn into six groups of four teams.
For the draw, the teams have been allocated into four pots of six teams, according to the FIFA ranking system. As hosts, Chile have automatically been placed in Pot 1.
Pot 1: Chile (hosts), Italy, USA, Korea Republic, Brazil, Colombia
Pot 2: New Zealand, France, Ukraine, Argentina, Nigeria, Mexico
Pot 3: Japan, Spain, South Africa, Australia, Panama, Norway
Pot 4: Saudi Arabia, Paraguay, Egypt, Cuba, Morocco, New Caledonia