With numerous recent victories of the Uganda Hippos which qualified them to the AFCON U20 quarter finals, players and the head coach Jackson Mayanja have vowed to secure a safer position in the forthcoming U20 FIFA world cup in case they win Nigeria in today’s match expected to be held at Sue Canal Authority stadium.
“From the time I was given the role as Hippos head coach I made it clear that qualification to the world cup is the goal. We have come from a long way and now closer to it. We play Nigeria which is a strong side but we know what this match means to us. It is a game that can turn round Ugandan football, change our lives, especially for the players,” Mayanja said.
The team players like skipper Isma Mugulusi, Ibrahim Juma, and Ivan Irinimbabazi among others who witnessed the previous match against neighbor South Sudan have revealed that their return for the crunch game against Nigeria is sign of victory.
They also vowed to display their experiences to catapult the team to the U20 FIFA world cup.
“It is a big game against a big nation with history but we also want to write history. We are going to go all out and leave everything on the pitch because this is the moment we have been waiting for,” Mugulusi said.
Hippos were elevated to the semifinals after they triumphed over Burkina Faso on penalties.
According to the organizers, the winner between Uganda and Nigeria will book a ticket to the U20 FIFA world cup expected to be played between May and June this year in Indonesia.