Monday, March 11
*Uganda vs Senegal, 8pm

Uganda men’s U20 national football team, the Uganda Hippos, is poised for a big clash against Senegal in their quest for a semifinal berth at the ongoing 2023 African Games in Ghana.

After securing a spirited 2-1 victory over Nigeria in their Group B opener, with goals from Usama Arafat and Ivan Irinimbabazi, coach Morley Byekwaso is rallying his team to capitalize on their momentum.

Expressing confidence in his squad, Byekwaso acknowledged the challenge ahead, stating, “We are going to face Senegal, a very tough team, number one in Africa and very knowledgeable about the game. I have trust in my players, and I know they will perform as well as they did against Nigeria.”

Byekwaso revealed strategic preparations aimed at countering Senegal’s strengths, particularly their aerial presence, emphasizing, “Our preparations have focused on how we can exploit their weaknesses. They are very good in aerial presence, and we have tried to work on that during the last few training sessions.”

Despite goalkeeper Abdul Magada and defender Ronald Madoi receiving knocks in the match against Nigeria, both have been declared fit for the upcoming encounter.

Unused subs Apollo Kagogwe, Enock Luyima, and Shafiq Magogo may also feature at certain point to give the team fresh legs.

Senegal, who also emerged victorious in their opening fixture, defeating South Sudan 1-0, pose a formidable challenge. However, Uganda remains undaunted, aiming to secure their first semifinal appearance since 1999.

Then, Uganda qualified out of the group that had South Africa, Algeria and Mali before they were stopped by Cameroon in the semifinals.

Against Senegal, Uganda will not be intimidated by the success of the West African nation as this team won gold at the 2015 African games and finished third (Bronze) in the previous edition in 2019.