Uganda’s U20 Boy’s team, the Hippos, on Monday evening made history when they beat Tunisia to storm the finals of the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations in Mauritania.
Uganda who are featuring at the Tournament in the tournament for their first time, had been written off amongst any teams that would make it to these stages. However, in their Monday semifinal game against North African giants Tunisia, they continued to push to levels their seniors have failed to at, beating Tunisia 4-1 to reach the finals in a game played at the Stade Cheikha Ould Boïdiya in the Mauritanian capital of Nouakchott.
Richard Basangwa opened the scoring for Uganda just five minutes into the first half, while Derrick Kakooza followed with a hat trick. Adam Karim Benlamine scored for Tunisia’s only goal in the 39th minute.
Morley Byekwaso shortly after the game said he had spent days working on stopping Tunisia.
“We spent days focusing on how to stop the Tunisians. It was easy for us but God was on our side. We tried to prevent them from possessing the ball. It was challenging to play against one of Africa’s strongest teams but our game plan worked for us,” he said.
The Monday win saw Hippos reach a feat they have never achieved for the U-20 team in the African Cup of Nations on their first attempt.
The win ensured Uganda set up a date with Ghana in the finals to be played at the Stade Olympique in Nouakchott on Saturday.
