Nigeria U-20 men’s coach Isah Ladan Bosso has extolled Uganda despite their 1-0 defeat to the Flying Eagles in the quarterfinals of the ongoing U-20 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt on Thursday.
The Hippos were undone by an own goal by left back Ibrahim Juma in the 30th minute as they were knocked out by Bosso’s side at the Suez Canal Stadium, with the latter booking a place in the semifinals of the tournament and a berth at the U-20 FIFA World Cup in Indonesia in May.
NIGERIA ➡️ FIFA U20 WORLD CUP ????
The Flying Eagles are 2023 #TotalEnergiesAFCONU20 semi-finalists ???? @NGSuperEagles pic.twitter.com/SrfS2NK6ah
— #TotalEnergiesAFCONU20 (@CAF_Online) March 2, 2023
Uganda finished atop Group B following a draw of lots by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), after they finished on the same points and goal difference as Congo.
The Hippos started the game against the Young Eagles brightly, but they were unable to break down the wall set by the West Africans. Isma Mugulusi, Travis Mutyaba, and Ivan Irinimbabazi all came close to leveling the scores in the second half, but Nigeria’s goalkeeper Chijioke Aniagboso was in inspired form as he ended with a well-deserved clean sheet.
“The Ugandan team is very compact and I never expected them to give us such a herculean task but we thank God we had our plans for the match and we worked on them,” Bosso told the media after the game.
“The Hippos are very composed, compact and I believe that most of their players are in their local league. The quality I have seen in this tournament in the coming years African teams will play in the FIFA World Cup final,” he said.
The former Adamawa United and El-Kanemi Warriors coach revealed his excitement at having led the Flying Eagles to the semifinals of the tournament while also acknowledging the achievement to other coaches back in Nigeria.
“Today we achieved our first target which is to qualify for the World Cup and that was achieved together but most importantly back home being the president of the Nigerian Coaches Association the Nigerian coaches are solidly behind me,” he said.
“I have almost five coaches back home who are studying the opponents in the tournament and they send it to me to work on them so I dedicate this qualification to the Nigerian coaches.”
Bosso and his boys still have a chance of clinching Nigeria’s eighth title, but they have one more stop before the final. They will welcome the winner of Friday’s quarterfinal between Gambia and debutants South Sudan in next Monday’s semifinals.
