She started the day before yesterday in Egypt: six African players to follow very closely at CAN U-20, including a Moroccan
This article was automatically translated from HIBAPRESS, the Arabic version:
Hibapress-Rabat-Fifa
At the dawn of the African Cup of Nations U-20 2025, FIFA paints a portrait of six players who could play a role of choice during this qualifying tournament for the World U-20 2025.
The African Cup of Nations U-20 2025 kicks off in Egypt this Sunday, April 27
The four teams that will reach the last square will qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup, Chile 2025 ™
Among the players who could shine in the Egyptian stadiums, we find the Moroccan Abdelhamid Aït Boudlal, the Senegalese Pierre Dorival or the Kenyan Amos Wanjala
In five months to the day, the U-20 World Cup of FIFA 2025 ™ will start in Chile. To date, we know the identity of 20 participants out of the 24 who will have to defend their colors in South America. It only remains to know the four African representatives.
And precisely, the four tickets allocated to CAF are about to find takers. The African Cup of Nations U-20 2025 which serves qualifications for the World Cup will take place from April 27 to May 18. The four selections that will reach the semi-finals will gain the right to compete in the World Cup. On the eve of the kick -off in Egypt, FIFA is pointing its spotlight on six African talents who could change the destiny of their team in the coming days.
Abdelhamid Aït Boudlal Morocco Central defender
Abdelhamid Aït Boudlal has always been considered one of the great hopes of Moroccan football and this year 2025 may well be the one that will definitively reveal it in the eyes of the general public. In 2023, The Guardian had not hesitated to place him in his list of the 60 greatest hopes of world football and since then, the player who made his classes within the prestigious Mohammed VI Academy of Football in Morocco only made progress.
Recruited by Stade Rennais in the summer of 2024 to cross a CAP, he has been playing on loan since last February at Amiens SC, in French Ligue 2, where his services did not go unnoticed, he who immediately managed to become an indisputable holder. Sometimes compared to Brazilian Marquinhos for its game characteristics, the robust finalist of the CAN U-17 2023 does not consider anything else this time than lifting the cup with the U-20.
Levison Banda Zambia Guardian
If he shares her family name with the famous Copper Queens attacker, Barbra Banda, it is in a very different role that Levison Banda shines: rather than stacking the goals, his role is indeed to prevent his opponents from scoring and, in this little game, the young Zambian is particularly gifted.
The porter was thus decisive during the qualifications for the CAN U-20. Author of a crucial judgment during the penalty shootout against Zimbabwe (2-2, 6 tab at 5), he allowed Zambia to access the final phase by being elected player of the match. Reliable in his game at the foot, he also takes advantage of his large template to illustrate in the cages and very often make spectacular stops.
Pierre Dorival Senegal Defensive
Member of the Senegalese U-17 selection which conquered Africa in 2023 before reaching, the same year, the knockout stages of the U-17 World Cup of FIFA ™ organized in Indonesia, Pierre Dorival will still be a key link in the teranga lion cubs during CAN U-20. Since his first steps in international tournaments, the young defensive midfielder has crossed many levels since he left behind the Sacré-Coeur Academy of Dakar where he was trained to continue his progression in France, in the prestigious training center of Olympique Lyonnais.
Since the summer of 2024, the tireless Gaucher has delighted the U-19 team and then of the National 3 reserve (fifth division) to the point of living its first steps with the professional group, under the orders of Paulo Fonseca, last February. “I hope it will continue like this and that one day, I will play Groupama Stadium,” he said on OL social networks. “From Dakar Sacré-Coeur, it’s a dream to play with Lyon pros, it’s really a pleasure. There is no doubt that the next deadlines with the Senegalese U-20 will give it a new opportunity to continue its lightning growth.
Ahmed Kabaka Egypt Attacking midfielder
Egypt qualified for the CAN U-20 after finishing second in the northern area and it may not have succeeded without an Ahmed Kabaka sparkling in its role as a distributor in the midfield. Currently loaned by Al Ahly FC to the Modern Sport club, in the Egyptian Premier League, Kabaka was elected a player of the match three times on four games.
In qualifying for the CAN U-20, it was he who scored on penalty the first goal of 2-1 victory against Libya and again him who managed to score a decisive goal against Tunisia (1-1) when his team had been reduced to ten. Specialist in set kicks, Ahmed Kabaka is the key player in the Egyptian U-20 selection whose main asset remains his propensity to project himself wisely in the area. In front of his audience, the 19 -year -old will undoubtedly be determined to show that he has his shoulders to embody the future of Egyptian football.
Kutlwano Lethlaku South Africa Wing
The Mamelodi Sundowns FC will play in a few weeks the FIFA 2025 ™ FIFA Club World Cup and the young Kutlwano Lethlaku may well have to play a role of choice. At just 19 years old, the tireless winger already accumulates more than 450 minutes of game in the first team, in a training that spins straight towards an eighth consecutive champion. Equipped with a ball pipe well above the average and capable of making confusing dribbles, Lethlaku likes to stick to the touch line from where it can overflow to center or choose to go inside to strike from its formidable left foot.
The 19-year-old winger in any case revealed in the eyes of the general public last November by achieving a leading performance in the South African Premier League since he signed a magnificent double against Polokwane City (2-0). With such a player in its ranks, South Africa believes hard as iron in its chances of reconnecting with the World U-20 for the first time since Poland 2019.
Amos Wanjala Kenya Central defender
Amos Wanjala has just celebrated his 19th birthday, but despite his young age, he has already managed to make a name for himself in the Kenyan sports landscape. “He is a leader and a great source of motivation for the team-not only for the technical staff, but for the whole group,” said Pulse Sports Godfrey Oduor, the assistant to the coach U-20 Salim Babu.
Fast and powerful, Wanjala regularly is ahead of its vis-à-vis the race, and its serenity ball at the foot generally allows it to revive properly and boost offensives and counterattacks. Now a resident of the Athletic Club Torrellano (Spanish D5), Amos Wanjala has a good chance of appearing soon in the Kenya first team. In any case, the coach Benni McCarthy will certainly follow his performances in Egypt carefully.
