Uganda cranes were confirmed as the second team to qualify for the round of 16 and they are set to know their next opponents on Monday after Group C matches, according to the AFCON’s 2019 new format. This was despite the hosts labouring 2-0 past them in their final group stage match on Sunday.
Initially, 16 teams participated in Afcon tournaments, but in this 32nd AFCON edition, a total of 8 teams were added for the tournament by the Confederation of African Football. The 24 qualified teams were seeded into four pots based on CAF rankings and were drawn into six groups of four teams with the hosts seeded in group A.
The top two teams in each group, along with the best four third-placed teams will advance to the knockout phase; the round of 16. As it stands, Egypt and Uganda have qualified for the next round in group A while Madagascar and Nigeria have succeeded in group B. Group C, containing Algeria, Senegal, Kenya and Tanzania will know their fate on Monday night.
According to the new format, Group A runners-up will face Group C runners-up, meaning that Uganda Cranes, who are the Group A runners-up will know their round of 16 opponents on Monday when Kenya will face Senegal and Tanzania will battle it out against Algeria.
Uganda have shown a frankly fair display in their group stage matches as they managed to beat DR Congo 2-0 in their opener before luckily securing a draw with Zimbabwe, who lost several open chances. Their 2-0 loss to Egypt wasn’t a big blow to them as their chance of qualifying for the next round was highly probable.
Concerning their probable opponents, the match between Senegal and Tanzania might be the determiner as it will be an absolute uphill task for Tanzanians to beat Algeria, who have shown a sublime display in their last two group stage matches.
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