Here are the countries eligible for the quarterfinals of the 2025 U20 AFCON and the fixtures to be played.
Egypt’s group stage of the 2025 U-20 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) has concluded that eight countries have now confirmed successfully leading to the quarter-finals.
After a series of compelling matches, these countries will go straight to the knockout stage, without 16 rounds in the knockout stage.
Teams eligible for the quarterfinals
The eight teams eligible for the quarterfinals are:
- Egypt (host)
- Morocco
- Nigeria
- Senegal
- Ghana
- South Africa
- Sierra Leone
- Congo PhD
The quarterfinal journey saw some dominant performances and tense results. Host Egypt won its position with a 1-0 victory over Tanzania, one of the best third teams. South Africa beat Zambia 1-1 and Sierra Leone became the runner-up in the group.
Morocco leads Group B and will be joined by Nigeria in the next round. Defending champion Senegal is second in Group C and has won the goal in Ghana, which leads the group. The Congo Doctor also won one of the best third-place teams.
U20 AFCON 2025 Quarter Final Fixture


The quarterfinals match is scheduled to begin Monday, May 12, 2025 and promises exciting as these eight teams compete for a place in the semifinals and are closer to the dream vet’s U-20 AFCON title.
The fixing device is as follows:
- Nigeria and Senegal
- Ghana and Egypt
- Morocco vs Sierra Leone
- South Africa vs Congo PhD
Why are there no 16 rounds in U-20 AFCON 2025?
Unlike some other big soccer matches that feature 16 rounds, the U-20 AFCON 2025 goes straight from the group stage to the quarterfinals. This is due to the format of the game, involving a few participating teams.
For the 2025 edition, the 13 teams are divided into three groups: one group of five teams (Group A) and two teams (Group B and Group C). The format is designed to make the first two teams in each group and the two best three-point teams from all groups go straight to the quarterfinals.
After the group stage, this structure effectively narrowed down the final eight teams of the game, laying the foundation for the decisive knockout. The absence of 16 rounds ensures a more direct path to the quarterfinals of the best performing teams in the entire group stage.
The U-20 AFCON is also a key qualifier for the FIFA U-20 World Cup, with four semi-finalists winning the right to represent Africa on the Chilean global stage.