_{South Sudan were ejected by The Gambia at the quarter final stage of the on-going TotalEnergies U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) on Friday night.}

_{The Gambia U-20 side that has all their matches at the tournament were a better side winning 5-0 at the Haras El Hood Stadium in Alexandria.}

_{But Peter James, head coach of the Young Bright Stars has made it clear that despite failing to the next stage, he is proud of his team.}

_{“Getting to the quarters on the first attempt is good. It is the first time that our players feature in this big stage,” said the South Sudan coach.}

_{He made it clear that no one gave them a chance to even make it through the group stage since it was the first time a South Sudan team qualified for an AFCON tournament. “But the team has worked hard and played four matches at the tournament which has given us a lot of exposure. These players have learnt a lot and will never be the same again,” added the coach.}

_{Forward Paul Mara Jawa who netted all South Sudan’s goals at the tournament said that although they lost to a good Gambia team, they are proud of the achievement. “ Making it to the quarter finals when we were playing in this tournament for the first time is very good. This gives us more motivation to keep working hard,” added the forward.}

_{In the group stage South Sudan kick started their campaign with a 2-1 defeat to Congo Brazzaville, and recovered to beat The Central African Republic 1-0. In their last group B match they held CECAFA Champions Uganda Hippos to a goalless draw.}

_{While the CECAFA representatives Uganda and South Sudan teams prepare to return home, the teams of Senegal, Nigeria, The Gambia and Tunisia have qualified for the semi finals and the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup to be held in Indonesia.}

_{The Young Bright Stars of South Sudan will be all out to prove a point when they face The Gambia on Friday night in the third quarter final at the on-going TotalEnergies U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).}

_{Going into the knock out stage, coach Peter James’ team will be all out to prove a point against an on-form Gambia tam at the Haras El Hood Stadium in Alexandria.}

_{After Uganda Hippos were ejected (1-0) by seven time U-20 African champions Nigeria on Thursday night, the Young Bright Stars will also carry the CECAFA Zonal flag as they attempt to qualify for the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup.}

_{Going into the quarter final South Sudan finished third in the group with 4 points after picking a win against The Central African Republic, a draw against Uganda and a loss to Congo Brazzavile, while The Gambia picked maximum points against Tunisia, Zambia and Benin.}

_{But South Sudan’s coach has said that although their opponents won all their three matches in the group stage, his team is well prepared to play their hearts out. “The Gambia is very strong with great players. We have 90 minutes to create an achievement, we want to give more pride to our country,” added the South Sudan coach.}

_{Already Senegal and Nigeria have qualified for the semi final stage and booked places in the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup.}

_{The Young Bright Stars of South Sudan got their campaign back on track with a hard fought 1-0 win against The Central African Republic in a Group B match played on Thursday night at the U-20 TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2023.}

_{After losing 2-1 in their opening match to Congo Brazzaville, the South Sudan team returned determined to collect maximum points to brighten their chances of making it to the knock out stage.}

_{It was Paul Mara Jawa’s converted penalty in the first half at the Suez Canal Stadium in Ismailia, Egypt that earned South Sudan the vital three points.}

_{Coach Peter James’ team dominated play against The Central African Republic, but failed to find more goals. “We are very happy that we get our first win in this tournament and we now look forward to our last group match against Uganda. The players are happy and determined to play their hearts out,” added a happy Peter James.}

_{In the second Group B match played at the same Stadium, Uganda Hippos were held 2-2 by a 10-man Congo Brazzaville team.}

_{Josna Loulendo gave the Congo team the lead after six minutes, but the Hippos leveled matters Titus Ssematimba after goalkeeper Christophe Wamba’s error. After 30 minutes the CECAFA Zonal champions made it 2-1 with Saidi Mayanja tapping from close range an Isma Mugulusi cross. Congo Brazzaville had skipper Claude Ngongara sent off for a second bookable offence before the break.}

_{The Red Devils later equalized through Prince Mombouli and defended well to keep Hippos at bay.}

_{Uganda Hippos coach Jackson Mayanja said his players did not play according to the style expected. “We missed a couple of chances, many chances were wasted so there’s nothing to say, Congo is a lucky team,” added Mayanja.}

_{The CECAFA representatives Uganda Hippos and South Sudan will clash in their last crucial Group B match on February 26th, the same day The Central African Republic battle Congo Brazzaville in Cairo.}

_{Group B standing}

               _{P    W    D    L   GF   GA    GD   Pts}

_{Congo    2     1     1     0      4      3       1       4}

_{Uganda   2    1     1     0      4       3       1       4}

_{S. Sudan 2     1     0    1      2      2       0       3}

_{CAR       2    0     0     2      1      3     -2       0}

_{The Young Bright Stars of South Sudan will be all out to try and register their first Group B win when they face The Central African Republic on Thursday night at the on-going 2023 TotalEnergies U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).}

_{After losing their opening match 2-1 to Congo Brazzaville, the Young Bright Stars are aware a good result this evening is all they need to keep their chances alive of making it to the knock out stage.}

_{Peter James, the South Sudan coach made it clear on Wednesday that his players are hungry to go all out and get a win at the Suez Canal Stadium.}

_{“We have corrected our mistakes now and the team is ready to play better and get a positive result,” added the coach.}

_{He explained that because all the teams playing at the tournament are at the same level, they will take all matches like a final. The coach will also hope that his attacking department is much sharper compared to the first match when they dominated play in the second half, but failed to take their chances.}

_{The second match in Group B will see CECAFA champions Uganda Hippos battle Congo Brazzaville in what promises to be a thriller for the joint table leaders.}

_{But Jackson Mayanja, the Uganda Hippos coach has made it clear that he has cautioned his players to go all out and win so that they play the last Group B match against South Sudan without any form of pressure.}

_{The Uganda Hippos stopped The Central African Republic 2-1 in their opening match. The 12 team tournament which will end on March 11th also doubles as the African qualifiers for the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup to held in Indonesia. The top four teams will qualify for the World Cup.}

_{Group B standing}

               _{P    W    D    L   GF   GA    GD   Pts}

_{Congo    1     1     0     0      2      1       1       3}

_{Uganda   1    1     0     0      2      1       1       3}

_{CAR       1    0     0     1      1      2      -1       0}

_{S. Sudan 1     0     0    1      1      2      -1       0}