Uganda’s Rhinos needed just eight minutes to turn a tight contest into a rout, scoring four goals to beat Japan 4-0 and book their place in the quarter-finals of the Tier C tournament at the inaugural FIFA U-15 World Cup and Festival in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The young Ugandans struggled to find a breakthrough in a closely contested first half on Wednesday, October 28, but once Jefferson Kwikiriza found the net, Japan had no answer to their attacking surge.

Kwikiriza opened the scoring in the 32nd minute before Jonah Muwanguzi doubled Uganda’s lead three minutes later.

Angello Kasumba struck in the 36th minute to make it 3-0, and Ivan Kiganda completed the rout in the 40th minute as the Rhinos took complete control of the Round of 16 encounter.

What had been a tight game quickly turned into a memorable afternoon for the Ugandans, who showed their quality in front of goal to secure a place among the last eight teams in their section.

The victory continued an encouraging tournament run for the Rhinos, who had earlier beaten Yemen 5-2 in another impressive attacking display.

Chile stand between Uganda and the semifinals

Uganda will now face Chile in the quarter-finals of the Tier C tournament, with a place in the semi-finals at stake.

The Rhinos’ route to this stage has not been straightforward. Despite their performances, they finished third in a group of six teams after conceding a goal in the final second of a match that cost them top spot and dropped them to third.

That late setback pushed Uganda into the Tier C competition, where they are now facing other teams that also finished third in their respective groups.

Although the Rhinos can no longer win the overall World Cup, they have a chance to claim the final reserved for teams that finished third in their groups.

Wednesday’s victory over Japan has kept that dream alive, and the young Ugandans will head into their meeting with Chile encouraged by their scoring form and defensive resilience.

After dispatching Yemen and Japan in convincing fashion, the Rhinos will hope to maintain their momentum and move another step closer to winning the Tier C title.