Cote d’Ivoire qualified for the delayed 2022 African Nations Championships (CHAN) quarterfinals after a seven years hiatus thanks to a hard-fought victory against Uganda Cranes.
The Elephants beat the East African representatives at the competition 3-1 in a match played at the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Algeria.
Cote d’Ivoire opened the scoring in the 12th minute through William Sankara Karamoko before Mathieu Patrick Vignon extended their lead 15 minutes later.
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Moses Waiswa pulled one back for the Cranes in the 34th minute via a penalty.
However, Uganda’s hopes of progressing to the next round were dashed by Aubin Kramo’s strike, 12 minutes to the end of regulation time.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) revealed after the game that the Elephants returned home with a medal the last time they qualified for the quarterfinals.
"Côte d’Ivoire registered their first CHAN victory since 2016 as they overcame Uganda in a breathtaking match.
"The last time Côte d’Ivoire made it to the knockout stages, they won the bronze medal," a statement from the continental football governing body read.
Uganda, who finished third in the group that also had Senegal, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, exited the tournament.
Milutin Sredojevic, Uganda Cranes' head coach, stated after the painful defeat that his charges learned valuable lessons from the match.
“It is difficult to accept this result, but this is what happened. We dominated the game in terms of statistics, but in terms of goals we were not efficient.
"There are useful lessons that we learned. We played a good match and our players gave everything they had.
"We played three tough matches and this will benefit us in the future,” Sredojevic was quoted by CAF.
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