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Mayanja picked out Uganda U20’s improvement in the second half, with the 53-year-old arguing that his side had enough opportunities to take something from the Suez Canal Stadium.
Uganda hippos coach Jackson Mayanja maintains that there were good things and crucial lessons for the Hippos in their 1-0 quarter-final defeat to Nigeria on Thursday.
Mayanja picked out Uganda U20’s improvement in the second half, with the 53-year-old arguing that his side had enough opportunities to take something from the Suez Canal Stadium.
The Uganda Cranes legend bemoaned Nigeria’s goal which he labelled ‘bad’, with the Flying Eagles benefiting from the ball ricocheting off defender Ibrahim Saddam Juma.
“The dream is over, but the players have learnt many things,” Mayanja told Pulse Sports after the game, adding; You can see from the bad goal we conceded, and the number of chances we wasted.”
“There are a lot of lessons for the young men like they should play for the team because you win as a group and not play for yourself as an individual.”
The Hippos dominated possession in the opening exchanges with captain Isma Mugulusi and Titus Ssematimba pulling the strings in the middle for Jackson Mayanja's side.
John Dembe and Ivan Irinimbabazi forced saves from Nigerian captain and goalkeeper Chijioke Aniagboso, and the Hippos were left to rue those missed opportunities when Juma scored an own goal at the half-hour mark.
Despite the Hippos failing to match their runners-up finish from 2021, and also missing out on their ambition of qualifying for the 2023 FIFA U20 World Cup, Mayanja insists that the Hippos can hold their heads high because they have left a mark on the tournament.
“I think we have had a very good tournament. The players have enjoyed and played very well, and have applied what we asked of them,” he explained.
“The only unfortunate bit was that we could not put away the goalscoring chances that we created. I am happy that they did apply themselves well and am sure that we left a mark on this tournament.”
“Overall, our players must learn how to play to qualify because that is what was the objective, but unfortunately,” he continued.
The Hippos won only one of their four games played at the tournament. The victory came in their opening game against the Central African Republic (CAR).
They were then held to a 2-2 draw against Congo and a goalless draw by neighbours South Sudan before elimination by Nigeria.
Two Hippos players defender John Torach and forward Rogers Mugisha were named in the group stage best XI, with Mugisha also named man of the match in their victory over the CAR.
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