Mugabi: Motherwell FC defender reveals best moment while with Uganda

Uganda defender Bevis Mugabi has revealed defeating the Democratic Republic of Congo 2-0 in their 2019 Africa Cup of Nation Group A was his standout game.

The East Africa team was pooled alongside hosts Egypt, DR Congo, and Zimbabwe and they came into the match as underdogs. Goals by Patrick Kaddu and Emmanuel Okwi were enough to help Sebastien Desabre's team get maximum points.

The experienced defender has revealed playing in the tournament is so far the best moment with the team.

"The highlight for me with Uganda was definitely playing in the African Cup of Nations," Mugabi, who plays for Motherwell FC told Motherwell Times.

"The game that stands out was the first game of the tournament when we beat Congo 2-0. People were shocked by the way that we played and how we dominated the game. 

"Congo had players from big leagues in and around Europe and they couldn’t get close to us."

The Cranes went on to finish behind Egypt in the group and qualified for the knockout phase for the first time in their history. The Pharaohs had maximum points while Uganda managed to get four points.

"We were putting our name out there as one of the threats within the tournament. We caught a lot of teams by surprise," the 25-year-old Mugabi continued.

"Getting as far as we did and obviously getting out of the group stages, which we’d never done before. It was nice to be a part of history, getting to the last 16 [where we lost 1-0 to eventual tournament runners-up Senegal].  

"That’s definitely my biggest achievement so far with the Uganda national team for sure."

The defender has now set his sight on the next stage for the national team.

"My next ambition with Uganda is to qualify for the World Cup. Haven’t we all watched the World Cup since we were kids?" he quipped.

"I have a kind of crazy [memories]. The most vivid memory was when [Zinedine] Zidane headbutted Marco Materazzi [in the 2006 World Cup final between France and Italy].  

"It was such a great tournament and something like that can happen to any of us."