Uganda coach Jackson Manyanja lauds players despite U20 Afcon ouster by Nigeria

By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde

Head coach of the Ugandan U-20 team, Jackson Mayanja has praised his players despite a painful 1-0 loss to Nigeria in the quarter-final of the 2023 U-20 African Cup of Nations in Ismailia, Egypt.

Ibrahim Juma was the unfortunate player to score the only goal of the closely contested match when Ibrahim Muhammad’s effort which hit the post came off his leg to nestle into Abdu Magada’s goal at the Suez Canal Stadium.

The defeat ended the Hippos World Cup dream and ensured that Mayanja side return home after topping Group B.

“The dream has come to an end like football. I am so happy for my boys. They had a fantastic game today,” Mayanja said during his post-match reactions.

“We had a very good tournament, I think the players enjoyed the game. They have done what we told them to do.

“They have played a fantastic game. We didn’t qualify but this is something we are building a new style of play for the template of Ugandan football. We have left a mark in this tournament with our display.”

Uganda won one of its four games at the 2023 U-20 AFCON which was a 1-0 win over Central Africa Republic (CAR) in its opening Group B match.