After a shaky start to their FIFA U20 World Cup campaign, South Africa’s youngsters found their rhythm with a big win over New Caledonia.
Chile (06 October 2025)- A slow start does not always define the journey and Amajita just proved that. After opening their FIFA U20 World Cup campaign with a tough 2-1 loss to France, South Africa’s U20 bounced back with a statement performance, sweeping past New Caledonia 5-0 in the early hours of Friday morning.
The team wasted no time making their presence felt, putting three goals past New Caledonia before halftime.
Defender Siviwe Nkwali set the tone with the opening header before Shakeel April and Siviwe Magidigidi piled on with more goals. Lazola Maku added a slick finish to seal the win.
And so it ends in Chile!!! Amajita march on…. pic.twitter.com/njg3VuLzXz
— SAFA.net (@SAFA_net) October 3, 2025
But it wasn’t just about the scoreline, Mfundo Tshabalala ran the show in midfield with composure, earning himself Player of the Match.
Coach Raymond Mdaka, while pleased knows the team has more gears to go through.
“It’s a game that we wanted to win but also win with goalsomehow, we lost a number of opportunities to score. This is a team I think we should have scored even more than nine or 10 goals.”
That hunger for “more” might be exactly what fuels them in their final group game against the USA on Sunday. With three points in the bag and momentum finally on their side, the boys have every reason to believe they can keep pushing forward.
This World Cup campaign may just be heating up at the right time.
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