Amajimbos face Japan in the last 32 of the World Cup
The South African u17 national team, Amajimbos, is set to face Japan on Saturday in the round of 32 of the u17 FIFA World Cup at the Aspire Zone in Qatar.
At the end of the group stage of the competition, South Africa finished second in Group A, behind Italy, while Japan topped Group B.
Amajimbos began their Group A schedule with a 3-1 win over Bolivia in their opening match, followed by a 1-1 draw with Qatar, and a 1-3 defeat to Italy.
Japan, on the other hand, finished top of their group, which also featured Portugal, Morocco, and New Caledonia, with a record of two wins and one draw.
The Amajimbos, who last participated in the u17 Fifa World Cup in 2015, in Chile, face a tough task when they take on the Japanese, who were surprisingly held to a goalless draw by New Caledonia, the minnows in their pool. But they beat the big guns, Morocco and Portugal, 2-0 and 2-1 respectively.
South Africa is one of the nine African teams that qualified for the round of 32. The only African country to miss out was Côte d’Ivoire, who finished last in Group F after losing against Switzerland, South Korea, and Mexico.
Tunisia, Senegal, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Morocco, Zambia, and Mali will be in action on Friday and Saturday, chasing a place in the last 16.
In 2015, under the guidance of coach Molefi Ntseki, South Africa exited after the group stage of the competition. Back then, the World Cup finals field was 24 teams. In 2025, that number has doubled.
Nonetheless, the 2025 team, under coach Vela Khumalo, appears to be better equipped to challenge on the World Cup stage. With their win over Bolivia, they achieved a first ever World Cup finals victory and then advanced to the next round.
On Saturday, at 15:30 SA local time, Khumalo’s squad will have an opportunity to improve upon that achievement and create even more history when they tackle Japan.
