Uganda and Senegal face off in Cairo in a last 16 fixture of the 2019 Total Africa Cup of Nations in Cairo on Friday 5 July 2019.
Both teams finished second in their respective groups, Senegal runners up in Group C to Algeria with 6 points while Uganda finished behind hosts Egypt in Group A with 4 points.
The Cranes put up a good showing in the group stages with a 2-0 win against DR Congo, Patrick Kaddu and Emmanuel Okwi scoring the goals. The East African’s drew 1-1 against Zimbabwe, Okwi again on target and then a losing to Egypt 2-0 in their final game.
The Cranes will be sorely focused on the match after ending their strike over pending win bonuses after the Football Association promised an extra $6,000 even after all their outstanding allowances are cleared.
Senegal beat Tanzania 2-0 in the first game, Keita Balde and Krepin Diatta on the score sheet. The Teranga Lions went on to lose 1-0 to Algeria before dispatching Kenya 3-0 in their final group match, Sadio Mane getting a brace, Ismaila Sarr with the other.
Head to Head
Uganda and Senegal have played each other 5 times and in those meetings Senegal have 2 wins, no loss and 3 draws.
Key Players
Sebastian Desabre’s mission will be to get Uganda into the quarterfinals. Emmanuel Okwi, Patrick Kaddu, Farouk Miya, Dennis Onyango and Lumala Abdu have all been instrumental.
Okwi scored 2 goals for the Cranes in the Group Stage s and is in line for a golden show award.
Farouk Miya, played all three matches in the group stages and even though he didn’t get a goal, he made two assists and will prove to be very key for Desabre.
The big man Dennis Onyango pulled off some crucial saves more especially against Zimbabwe and might be called upon again to do the job for the Cranes. The Sundowns keeper suffered what looked like a heatstroke and was pulled out of the Egypt game to be replaced by
Utility player Hassan Wasswa Mawanda who has played alongside three different teammates at central defence during AFCON 2019 had a painful tooth extracted in a Cairo health facility on Wednesday. Questions linger about his readiness and fitness for the Senegal game on Friday.
Aliou Cissé is banking on a positive result from his side against a dangerous Uganda team. Cissé will be glad that his main man Sadio Mane got off the mark with a brace against Kenya.
The Liverpool man saw his penalty saved earlier in the game against the Harambee Stars but made up for the miss.
Kalidou Koulibaly has been a rock at the back as expected, Cheikhou Kouyate has been a good deputy, Keita Balde Ismaila Sarr has also been a good performer for the Teranga Lions up-front.
Match Information
Uganda vs Senegal
Kickoff: 21:00 CAT/ 22:00 EAT
Venue: Cairo International Stadium
