By Ibrahim Karim Bangura (Tamko)

The Shooting Stars of Sierra Leone have retuned home after their historic debut at the Total Energies U-20 Africa Cup of Nations 2025.

They have a brave duty as they will prepare to reach the semi-finals and secure a first-ever ticket to the U-20 World Cup in Chile.

Drawn into a tough Group A with Egypt, Zambia, South Africa, and Tanzania, Sierra Leone’s U-20 team, the Shooting Stars, entered the AFCON as underdogs and made an immediate impact with a stunning 4-1 win over host Egypt,with a hat-trick from captain Momoh Kamara.

It followed their 1-0 win over Tanzania to become the first team to qualify from the group.

They are level on points with South Africa but second on head-to-head. Sierra Leone stars faced Group B leaders Morocco in the quarterfinals, despite going down to 10 men after Juma Bah’s red card in stoppage time, they held firm into extra time only to concede a heartbreaking own goal in the 117th minute, ending their remarkable run.