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

#1 Uganda leave with their heads held high

The East African Nation made their country proud

When Uganda sealed qualification for the 2019 Nations Cup with a 2-0 away win over Lesotho in the qualifying rounds in October 2018, it meant that the East African Nation would be appearing on the premier stage of African football for the first time in 38 years.

Despite internal strife and training boycotts over owed bonuses, the Ugandan players still showed great determination in finishing second in a group A also containing hosts Egypt, Zimbabwe and DR Congo.

They kicked off their long-awaited AFCON campaign with a 2-0 win over DR Congo with goals from Patrick Akku and Emmanuel Okwi enough to see them through on the day.

They followed that up with a 1-1 stalemate against Zimbabwe before 2-0 losing to Egypt to set up their round-of-16 clash with Senegal.

The Cranes had overachieved in itself by qualifying from the group stage, but they did not let the higher pedigree of their opponents cower them into submission.

While a team in their position would have sat back and ridden out the pressure; happy to get a draw, Uganda gave as good as they got, putting Senegal on the backfoot on a number of occasions and drew some saves from Alfred Gomis in the Senegalese goal.

Though they saw their 2019 AFCON experience end on the night, the Ugandan players' performance was brilliant and they would leave with their heads held high knowing they made 44 million compatriots back home proud.