Uganda Hippos quest to play at the FIFA World Cup continues this evening at the ongoing AFCON U20 tournament with a tie against Nigeria in the quarter-finals at Suez Canal Authority Stadium.The Hippos have a grand opportunity of writing history by becoming the first football team in Ugandan football to play at the global stage.Head Coach Jackson Mayanja reaffirmed the target of the team that is qualifying for World Cup during the pre match press briefing.##NAJAVA_MECA_7065034##“From the time I was given the role as Hippos coach I made it clear that qualification to the World Cup is the goal. We have come along 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 around Ugandan football, change our lives, especially for the players,” he said.Skipper Isma Mugulusi, Ibrahim Juma, and Ivan Irinimbabazi, who were rested in the previous match against neighbors South Sudan, are set to return for the crunch tie.Mugulusi is confident that they are in it to make history.Maelo hails Baraza’s revolutionary impact at Police“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, leave everything on the pitch because this is the moment we have been waiting for,” the skipper said.Before Uganda’s match, Benin will take on Senegal at the Cairo International Stadium in the other quarterfinal set for Thursday.The Cheetahs, Benin, squeezed through to the quarter-finals with two points in Group C while the Teranga Cubs won all three group stage matches without conceding a goal and scoring eight goals enroute to the knock-out phase of the tournament.##NAJAVA_MECA_7065030##Cheetahs head coach Mathias Deguenon says they want to go to the final and that means they must overcome Thursday’s opponent.”Tomorrow’s match is different from the group stage. If we win, we will qualify and if we lose, we will leaveOur goal is to reach the final and we will play to win,” Deguenon said on Wednesday at the pre-match press conference.Despite their impressiv showing so far in the tournament, Senegal coach Malick Daf insists Thursday’s opponents will not be easy to play against.”The Benin national team is definitely strong and playing them will not be easy and the proof is that they succeeded in reaching the quarter-finals,” Daf said.© FUFA© CAF
