South Africa national under-20 football team
The South Africa national under-20 football team, is a youth football team, which represents South Africa and is controlled by the South African Football Association, the governing body for football in South Africa. The team's main objectives are to qualify and play at the African Youth Championship and FIFA U-20 World Cup. The team has played at seven African Youth Championships and three FIFA U-20 World Cups.
History
The team was started in 1993, when SAFA decided to form an under-20 team. The team's greatest achievements to date include a second-place finish at the 1997 African Youth Championship, hosted in Morocco and qualifying for the 1997, 2009 and 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cups in Malaysia, Egypt and South Korea.Player eligibility
Players who are selected, will be 20 or younger in the following World Cup year. With the next FIFA U-20 World Cup being held in South Korea in 2017, players need to have been born on or after 1 January 1997.Schedule and Recent Results
The following is a list of matches from the past twenty-four months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.Date | Team | Result | Score | Competition | Location |
12 December 2016 | W | 1-0 | 2016 COSAFA U-20 Cup | Moruleng Stadium, Moruleng, South Africa | |
14 December 2016 | W | 5-0 | 2016 COSAFA U-20 Cup Semi-final | Moruleng Stadium, Moruleng, South Africa | |
16 December 2016 | W | 2-1 | 2016 COSAFA U-20 Cup Final | Moruleng Stadium, Moruleng, South Africa | |
12 February 2017 | L | 1-2 | Friendly | Nkoloma Stadium, Lusaka, Zambia | |
19 February 2017 | D | 1-1 | Friendly | Peter Mokaba Stadium, Limpopo, South Africa | |
27 February 2017 | W | 3-1 | 2017 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations | Levy Mwanawasa Stadium, Ndola, Zambia | |
2 March 2017 | L | 3-4 | 2017 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations | Levy Mwanawasa Stadium, Ndola, Zambia | |
5 March 2017 | W | 3-1 | 2017 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations | Levy Mwanawasa Stadium, Ndola, Zambia | |
8 March 2017 | L | 0-1 | 2017 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations Semi-final | National Heroes Stadium, Lusaka, Zambia | |
12 March 2017 | L | 1-2 | 2017 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations | National Heroes Stadium, Lusaka, Zambia |
Current squad
The following 21 players were selected for the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup to be held in Poland between 23 May – 15 June 2019.Notable former players
Players who have previously played for the under-20 team, and have since gone on to play for the senior team:- Benni McCarthy
- Matthew Booth
- Thulani Serero
- Stanton Fredericks
- Thulani Hlatshwayo
- Darren Keet
- Andile Jali
- Junaid Hartley
Tournament records