South Sudan coach speaks after picking first win in AFCON U-20 qualifiers

The head coach of South Sudan’s U-20 team, Felix Bilal Komoyangi has said they have what it takes to get to the semi-final stage at the on-going TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) CECAFA qualifiers.

South Sudan suffered a 1-0 defeat to Burundi in their opening Group B match, but bounced back to silence Ethiopia 2-1 in an entertaining match played at the Azam Complex on Wednesday.

Ngong Garang and skipper Daniel Bichiok Dang scored for South Sudan, while Wancha Thurbiel pulled a goal back for the Ethiopians.

“I am very happy with the attitude my team has showed against Ethiopia and this gives us going into the last group match against Uganda on Friday,” said the South Sudan coach.

Komoyangi said even in the first defeat to Burundi his team played well but missed a couple of scoring opportunities. “My belief in my players to go all out and get a good result against Uganda because that match means a lot for us. We need to improve in some of the areas as we head into the last Group match,” explained the South Sudan coach.

In their last meeting in the final of the last qualifiers held in Khartoum, Sudan in 2022, Uganda Hippos defeated South Sudan 2-1.

Action will continue in Group A on Thursday with Rwanda facing Kenya at the KMC Stadium, while Tanzania take on Sudan in what promises to be a thriller at the Azam Complex.