As our SA U20 side prepare to make World Cup history, we take a look at the difficult history of what came before, and the incredible talent that turned the team's fortunes around so much so they stand on the cusp of a quarterfinal at the global showpiece.

South Africa’s Under-20 football team, affectionately known as Amajita, has been making waves in the Under-20 FIFA World Cup in Chile.

Raymond Mdaka’s troops secured a qualification to the World Cup after winning the U20 AFCON with a 1-0 victory over Morocco in the final in Egypt, with Mamelodi Sundowns starlet Gomolemo Kekana scoring the all-important goal to lift the prestigious trophy as African champions for the very first time.

In the ongoing World Cup, Amajita kicked off the tournament with a narrow 2-1 loss to favourites France. But the AFCON gold medallists turned their fortunes around in the second match of the global showpiece with a rampaging 5-0 win over New Caledonia.

During the 5-0 drubbing of New Caledonia, Siviwe Nkwali, Shakeel April, and Lazola Maku got into the score sheet while Siviwe Magidigidi netted a brace. With the side oozing in confidence, they clinched a hard-fought 2-1 win against the USA, booking a place in the Round of 16.

Amajita now shift their focus to Colombia in the Last 16 clash on Wednesday, October 8, eyeing an historic place in the quarter-finals.

GOAL zooms into the Amajita’s past failures before raising the bar on the World stage: