Uganda’s cinderella story at the Fifa Under-17 World Cup gained yet another chapter after they reached the round-of-16 stage with a hard fought 1-0 win over Senegal at the Aspire Zone – Pitch 7 ground in Qatar on Saturday evening.
Midfielder Abubakar Walusimbi’s 15th minute pile driver proved sufficient as the Cubs held on for victory cappped by some outstanding shot stopping from goalkeeper Edrisah Waibi.
The result is already a remarkable achievement for the Brian Ssenyondo coached side who became the first Ugandan team at any level to play at the World Cup
They also started the tournament with one point from the opening two games needing a last minute goal to draw against Chile after losing 2-1 to Canada.
But they are gaining momentum at the right time following a second successive victory to build onto the 1-0 win over France in the final group game that sealed progress to the round-of-32 stage.
After a cagey start, the game and particularly the Cubs, sprung to life when Arafat Nkoola collected a loose pass inside the Senegalese half.
He was brought down in a bid to break play but the referee allowed play to continue before the ball was passed out wide to Hamuza Sengooba who returned the ball into the path Walusimbi.
With the midfielder allowed time to set himself up and shoot, his next action turned out to be an unstoppable drive past goalkeeper Vincent Gomis that will leave the young Senegalese defenders with regrets for their half hearted defending.
The goal seemed to awaken the Senegalese who came into the game having not conceded a goal in three games and topped Group C with seven points.
They peppered Waibi’s goal within four minutes of concedimg with efforts from all angles as the young goalkeeper first saving with his feet to block a goalbound shot before a point blank save from the resultant corner was also pushed wide.
Two long range efforts then followed while Waibi also kept out a header from the gangly Senegalese centre forward Bakary Sonko, all before the half hour mark.
There were few clear cut opportunities in the second half that save for the senegalese goalkeeper keeping out a James Bogere effort from a narrow angle after bursting through on goal.
Some smart decision making from Ssenyondo saw the coach make use of Fifa’s new video support system to challenge the referee’s decision to award Senegal a 70th minute penalty with the decision overturned after a VAR review.
The only blip on an otherwise perfect night for the Cubs who are the first Ugandan football team to play at any World Cup was the booking of syar striker Bogere to rule him out of the round of 16 clash against Burkina Faso who defeated Germany 1-0.
Fifa U-17 World Cup
Round of 32 Selected results
Uganda 1-0 Senegal
Burkina Faso 1-0 Germany
Round of 16 – Tuesday
Uganda vs Burkina Faso