2019 Africa Cup of Nations, Uganda 0-1 Senegal: 4 Talking Points from the game

#3 Denis Onyango goes from zero to hero

Although Onyango was lucky to stay on the pitch, he kept Uganda alive

Widely regarded as the best goalkeeper on the African continent at the moment, Denis Onyango played a starring role in helping Uganda qualify for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

In the group stages, he pulled off a host of impressive saves to help The Cranes achieve a second-placed finish in group A and his team would have been counting on his vast experience and leadership quality to take them as far as possible.

The Mamelodi Sundowns shot-stopper has earned a reputation for making himself big in one-on-one situations but was powerless to stop Sadio Mane’s left-footed finish from nestling into his bottom left corner.

Earlier in the match, he had been shown a yellow card for recklessly rushing out of his box and hacking Ibrahim Sarr down and this was to be a recurring theme for the entirety of the match, with the 34-year-old bringing down Sadio Mane in the penalty box with 58 minutes gone.

Given that he was already on a yellow card, Onyango was supposed to have received his marching orders but centre referee Mustapha Ghorba showed great leniency in choosing to let him stay on.

This was to ultimately prove a key decision, as Onyango saved the ensuing penalty by diving low to his left to produce a stunning save and deny Mane the honour of taking Senegal 2-0 up.

Even though his teammates did not take advantage of his save, Dennis Onyango departs Egypt with his reputation enhanced.