Africa-Press – Uganda. The Uganda Hippos face Nigeria on Thursday at the in a high stakes quarterfinal at the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.
The winner at the Suez Canal Stadium is guaranteed a World Cup place along with the three other semi-finalists later this year in Indonesia.
Both teams have been clear about that ambition right from the onset with Hippos coach Jackson Mayanja and his charges eager to emulate their 2021 counterparts who reached the final. Before losing to Ghana.
“We have prepared the tactical part. Now the ball is in the players’ hands to make sure they add the extra effort,” Mayanja stated in the pre-match press conference on Wednesday.
There is sufficient confidence about their chances having reached this stage after topping Group B albeit by drawing lots with Congo.
Their meeting ended in an entertaining 2-2 draw after Uganda defeated the Central African Republic and could not find the back of the net against South Sudan.
Mayanja has vowed to play on the front foot regardless of the occasion.
“That is my philosophy. I believe in that and we are going to make sure we attack the Nigerians but also be cautious. Because we’ve seen that the modern game is about attacking and then defending as a team,” added Mayanja.
Playmaker Travis Mutyaba’s man-of-the-match performance against South Sudan has him back in contention for a starting slot.
Mayanja could however also revert to the attack that had captain Isma Mugulusi, John Paul Dembe, Titus Sematimba and Rogers Mugisha that created several goal scoring opportunities against Congo.
Three of the four were rested against South Sudan with Sematimba captaining the team after Mayanja made five changes.
They play a Nigeria side that finished second in Group A behind Senegal and will ask the Rogers Torach led defence.
After a 1-0 loss to Senegal, Nigeria defeated hosts Egypt 1-0 before running out 2-0 winners over Mozambique.
“Before we left our training camp in Morocco, the NFF President, Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau told us clearly that the first objective should be getting a ticket to the FIFA World Cup. We are at that most important stage now and we cannot afford to falter,” Nigeria head coach Isah Ladan Bosso is quoted having said by several local media outlets.
U-20 Africa Cup of Nations
Quarterfinals
Thursday
Uganda vs Nigeria, 8pm
Senegal vs. Benin, 5pm
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