Guinea U20 Semifinal Kicks Off 25 October

GUINEA · MALI · FOOTBALL

The Guinea U20 semifinal at the UFOA-A tournament in Bamako, Mali, is scheduled for Sunday 25 October 2026, after Guinea’s under-20 team won its first two group games. A win would put Guinea in the final and, with it, at the 2027 U20 Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana, a tournament the country has not played since 2017.

For US readers, the match is the first gate on Africa’s road to the 2027 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan. Depending on where Guinea finish in their group, kick-off will be at noon or 3 p.m. on the US East Coast.

Guinea reached the last four by beating Mali and Liberia 1-0 each, as set out in our first piece on the tournament, Guinea U20 Beats Liberia 1-0 to Reach Semis. This article looks at what comes next: the opponent, the date and what qualification would mean.

How the Guinea U20 Semifinal Is Decided

The pairing depends on Guinea’s last group game, against Gambia on Wednesday 21 October, the Guinean outlet Guineematin reported. Guinea lead Group A with six points and Gambia have four, so a draw or a Guinean win would secure first place.

Under the schedule published by the Senegalese sports sites Wiwsport and Senegal7, the Group A winner meets the Group B runner-up at 4 p.m. GMT and the Group B winner meets the Group A runner-up at 7 p.m. GMT. If Gambia win on Wednesday, Gambia would top Group A and Guinea would face the Group B winner in the later game.

That schedule was published on 7 October, before Guinea-Bissau withdrew from Group B. The Senegalese site Seneweb reported that the sub-regional body announced the withdrawal in a statement on Friday 16 October, gave no reasons and was expected to issue an updated schedule.

Who Guinea Could Face

Group B now has three teams: Senegal, Mauritania and Sierra Leone. Senegal, the defending champions coached by Malick Daf, beat Mauritania 2-1 in their opening game on Friday 16 October, the Mauritanian outlet Madar reported.

Senegal also ended Guinea’s run at the same stage two years ago. They won the 2024 semifinal 2-0 at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex in Liberia on 25 September with goals in the 87th and 93rd minutes, according to Guineematin and Senegal’s public broadcaster RTS.

Sierra Leone beat Gambia 3-0 in the other 2024 semifinal to reach the final for the first time, RTS reported, and then lost the final 2-0 to Senegal, according to CAF. Mauritania lost its opening game in Bamako and has one group game left, against Sierra Leone.

Date, Time and Venue

The semifinals are scheduled for Sunday 25 October and the final and third-place match for Friday 30 October at the Stade Mamadou Konaté in Bamako. The published schedule does not name the semifinal ground, and Guinea have already played at both the Stade Mamadou Konaté and the Ouezzin Coulibaly stadium.

Mali keeps GMT all year, while the eastern United States stays on daylight saving time until 1 November. A 4 p.m. GMT kick-off is therefore noon in New York and 9 a.m. in Los Angeles, and a 7 p.m. GMT kick-off is 3 p.m. in New York and noon in Los Angeles.

What Qualification Would Mean

Only the two finalists go through to the 2027 U20 Africa Cup of Nations, which the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has awarded to Ghana and says will feature 12 teams. The Guinean site Guineefoot noted on Sunday that Guinea has not played that tournament since 2017 in Zambia.

That 2017 campaign shows the size of the prize. Guinea reached the semifinals in Zambia and with them the 2017 U-20 World Cup in South Korea, its first appearance at that level in 38 years, FIFA reported at the time.

CAF says the top four in Ghana will again qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup, which FIFA’s Council awarded to Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan for 2027. A semifinal defeat in Bamako would close that route, because the third-place match on 30 October carries no ticket to Ghana.

The semifinal also comes at a busy moment for Guinean football off the pitch. The Guinean Football Federation (FEGUIFOOT) elects a new executive committee on 27 October, between the semifinal and the final, and published the final list of candidates on 15 October.

What It Means for US Readers

The direct link is the FIFA U-20 World Cup, where US youth teams meet the African qualifiers. At the 2025 edition in Chile, Morocco beat the US under-20 team 3-1 in the quarterfinals and then won the title, only the second African winner after Ghana in 2009.

Any team that wins in Bamako and finishes in Ghana’s top four could face the United States in 2027 if the Americans qualify. The US State Department rates Mali at Level 4, “Do Not Travel”, and says US government employees there are not allowed to travel outside Bamako because of safety risks.

What Is Not Known

Guinea’s opponent will not be known until both groups are finished, and the order of Group B’s remaining games has been reported differently. Seneweb wrote that Senegal would wait five or six days for their last group game, while Madar, citing Senegal’s APS news agency, said Senegal would play Sierra Leone on Monday 19 October.

The semifinal venue, the kick-off times under any revised schedule and any US broadcast or streaming arrangements had not been announced by Monday morning. CAF gives February and March 2027 as the window for the Ghana tournament but has not published exact match dates, while Wiwsport and Senegal7 have reported 27 April to 18 May 2027.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the Guinea U20 semifinal?

It is scheduled for Sunday 25 October 2026 in Bamako, Mali. Kick-off is 4 p.m. GMT if Guinea win Group A and 7 p.m. GMT if they finish second, under the published schedule.

Who will Guinea play in the semifinal?

As Group A winners Guinea would face the Group B runner-up, and as runners-up they would face the Group B winner. Group B contains Senegal, Mauritania and Sierra Leone after Guinea-Bissau withdrew.

What happens if Guinea win the semifinal?

Guinea would reach the final on 30 October and qualify for the 2027 U20 Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana. The top four teams in Ghana go on to the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan.

When did Guinea last play at the U20 Africa Cup of Nations?

Guinea last took part in 2017 in Zambia, where it reached the semifinals. That run also sent Guinea to the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup in South Korea.

What time is the semifinal in the United States?

A 4 p.m. GMT kick-off is noon Eastern and 9 a.m. Pacific on 25 October. A 7 p.m. GMT kick-off is 3 p.m. Eastern and noon Pacific.

Sources: FEGUIFOOT, final list of candidates for the executive committee election, 15 October 2026, FEGUIFOOT, election of 27 October 2026, provisional list, 7 October 2026, CAF, Ghana to host the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations 2027, 28 April 2026, CAF, hosts of CAF events in 2026-27, 10 August 2026, Guineematin, Guinea 1-0 Liberia, 18 October 2026, Africaguinee, Guinea 1-0 Liberia, 18 October 2026, Guineefoot, Guinea in the semifinals, 18 October 2026, Kibaru Sports, Liberia 0-0 Gambia, 16 October 2026, Seneweb, Gambia 1-0 Mali, 18 October 2026, Seneweb, Guinea-Bissau withdraws, 17 October 2026, Madar, Mauritania 1-2 Senegal, 17 October 2026, Wiwsport, tournament schedule, 7 October 2026, Senegal7, tournament schedule, 7 October 2026, Dakar92, Senegal title defence opens, 15 October 2026, Guineematin, Senegal 2-0 Guinea, 25 September 2024, CAF, Senegal beat Sierra Leone 2-0 in the 2024 WAFU A U20 final in Liberia, 29 September 2024, RTS, Senegal 2-0 Guinea and Sierra Leone 3-0 Gambia, 25 September 2024, FIFA, African qualifiers for the U-20 World Cup Korea Republic 2017, AFFA, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan to co-host the FIFA U-20 World Cup, 2 October 2025, FIFA, Morocco win the U-20 World Cup Chile 2025, U.S. Soccer, U-20 quarterfinal against Morocco, 12 October 2025, US State Department, Mali travel advisory. All retrieved 19 October 2026.

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief