African Games 2023: Uganda Hippos Ready for Senegal Encounter

Uganda U20 Men’s National Team will return to action today at 8pm to take on Senegal at the ongoing African Games in Accra, Ghana.

The Hippos made a good start to their journey at the Championship by earning a 2-1 win over Nigeria on Thursday last week.

Therefore, the target on Monday at the Accra Sports Stadium will be to maintain the good run and perhaps secure a slot in the semifinals.

In the pre-match press briefing, Head Coach Morley Byekwaso lauded his players for the job done in the opening game against Nigeria and hopes they will put up a similar performance against Senegal.

“I thank my players and the technical team for the work done in the first game but that was just the beginning. We are going to face Senegal, a very tough team, number one in Africa and very knowledgeable about the game.I have trust my players and I know they will perform as good as they did against Nigeria.” He said.

Byekwaso indicated he has crafted a plan to take on Senegal and get the desired results.

“We are aware of what they bring to the table and our preparations have been looking at how we can hurt them. They are very good in aerial presence and we have tried to work on that during the last few training sessions.” He stated.

Uganda won the first game 2-1 against Nigeria thanks to goals from Arafat Usama Kizza and Ivan Irinimbabazi.

Usama indicates the players are ready and have tried to keep the win against Nigeria at the back of their minds.

“Of course winning our first game was important but we didn’t allow ourselves to get complacent. Senegal is a good team and we know how they play. So we are ready to face them and keep our target going.” He said.

Senegal won their first game 1-0 against South Sudan who will face Nigeria in the other group B match to be played on Monday.

A win for Uganda will see the Hippos through to the semifinals, for the first time at these Games since 1999 in South Africa.

Team News

Goalkeeper Abdu Magada who sustained a knock in the game against Nigeria has been passed fit and available for selection.

Equally, defender Ronald Madoi who limped off in the 75th minute against Nigeria trained with the team on Saturday and Sunday and is likely to return to the team.