Central African Republic midfielder Noah Ato-Zandanga says Les Fauves are in a positive mood ahead of their penultimate TotalEnergies U-20 Africa Cup of Nations group match against South Sudan in Ismailia on Thursday.
The CAR succumbed to a 2-1 defeat against Uganda’s Hippos in their first match played at the Suez Canal Stadium in Ismailia.
Isma Mugulusi and John Paul Dembe fired the Hippos in front before Boris Gbenou scored a late consolation for Sebastien Ngato’s team.
“Besides the loss the team is very focused and concentrated and we’re prepared for the last session of the match,” Noah said in Wednesday’s pre-match press conference.
“The last game was complicated, and the next match will be the same. We have trained well and were prepared to face each other. We’re here to win our remaining matches and win the tournament.”
The Central African Republic are participating in their second TotalEnergies U-20 Africa Cup of Nations following their debut in 2021 where they reached the quarterfinals.
“The vibe in the camp is very good, we’re not depressed, and it was good that we lost because it will help us to push more in the remaining matches,” Noah added.
CAR and South Sudan are without a point following respective defeats to Uganda and Congo. Head coach Sebastien Ngato says the match against South Sudan’s Young Bright Stars is a decisive match.
“It’s the second day after we lost the match against Uganda, but this is a very decisive match. The last match was a lesson for us – it was very hard, and we learned from it, and we’re going for a win against South Sudan,” said the Les Fauves boss.
“It’s going to be difficult, but we want to win, and we believe we will do it.
“We prepared well for the match. I know we lost the last match, but the preparations are good and it’s not an option to be ready, we must be ready.”
Both teams will be hoping to get their campaigns back on track to secure a place in the quarterfinals of the 23rd edition of the biennial tournament which also serves as the qualifiers for the FIFA U-20 World Cup.
“We’re not here to visit Egypt as tourists, we want to win the tournament. We will regroup to win our match tomorrow and the people back home want us to win and they’re waiting for us to win.
Source: Confederation of African Football