South Africa’s Amajita head to Chile as African champions with a point to prove
Fresh from lifting the TotalEnergies U-20 AFCON title in Egypt, South Africa’s Amajita land in Chile aiming to turn continental momentum into a deep run at the FIFA U-20 World Cup Chile 2025.
Drawn in Group E alongside France, USA and New Caledonia, the African champions face a high-wire opening phase but travel with belief, continuity and a core of players forged by tournament pressure earlier this year.
It is South Africa’s fifth appearance at this level (after 1997, 2009, 2017 and 2019) and their first since 2019.
The brief is clear: be streetwise, maximise set-plays and keep clean sheets long enough for their attacking sparks to tilt tight games.
Group outlook
France arrive as age-group specialists with depth and incision, while the USA’s verticality and set-piece polish make them a perennial knockout threat.
New Caledonia, meanwhile, are ambitious but less battle-hardened. The calculus for South Africa is familiar: take something from the France opener, beat New Caledonia, and be alive on matchday three.
Amajita’s tournament craft — compact lines, fast transitions, disciplined restarts — is built for this kind of bracket. The margins will be fine, but South Africa’s current cycle has already shown it can win pressure moments.
How they play
Amajita’s identity is pragmatic rather than baroque. Out of possession they’re compact in a mid-block, screening central lanes before springing into counters via quick diagonals into the channels.
On set pieces, Smith is the aerial reference and the near-post is often attacked with rehearsed runs.
In open play, full-backs are asked to choose their moments, protecting rest defence first, then adding width if the press is broken.
The model travelled well in Cairo; Chile’s cooler evenings and equal-quality pitches should help the team carry those behaviours.
The coach: Raymond Mdaka
Raymond Mdaka leads the side after orchestrating South Africa’s first U-20 continental title.
The former Marumo Gallants coach has emphasised chemistry and clarity — a compact 4-3-3 out of possession, vertical switches in transition and a premium on set-piece detail.
His AFCON triumph and continuity through COSAFA have given Amajita a shared game model and strong habits for tournament football.
Star player: Tylon Smith
Expectations orbit around dynamic centre-back Tylon Smith, Player of the Tournament at the U-20 AFCON and now on the books of Queens Park Rangers.
His recovery pace, leadership and threat at dead balls underpin Amajita’s defensive platform — vital against France’s combination play and the USA’s athletic surges.
One to watch: Fletcher Smythe-Lowe
Golden Glove winner in Cairo, the Estoril-based goalkeeper brings European training ground habits and big-save timing to Chile.
If South Africa are to manage game states against higher-seeded opponents, Smythe-Lowe’s command of the box and distribution under pressure will matter.
Why Amajita can go deep
Champions’ habits matter. This group defends the box well, carries a proven match-winner between the posts, and tends to improve across a tournament week.
Add a centre-back who changes the geometry on set plays and a coach who has already squeezed performance out of the same core, and South Africa have the ingredients to navigate Group E.
From there, knockout football becomes about repetition: defend properly, seize the first chance, manage the last 20 minutes.
Bottom line: Amajita arrive as continental title-holders, organised and confident. Clear the group, and the draw opens. Do the simple things well — and Chile could add another line of history to South Africa’s youth pathway.
Group and fixtures
All three group matches are scheduled at Estadio El Teniente, Rancagua.
Amajita open against European heavyweights France on Monday 29 September, a fixture FIFA has already placed on its global live slate.
They then face Oceania’s New Caledonia on Friday 3 October before closing against the USA on Sunday 5 October — a game confirmed by U.S. Soccer to round off Group E.
South Africa’s Group E matches (local time, Rancagua):
• Mon 29 Sep — France v South Africa, Estadio El Teniente, Rancagua.
• Fri 3 Oct — South Africa v New Caledonia, Estadio El Teniente, Rancagua.
• Sun 5 Oct — USA v South Africa, Estadio El Teniente, Rancagua.