By Lubulwa Edrine
Congo Brazzaville 0-1 Uganda cranes
South Africa 3-0 South Sudan
The Uganda senior men’s football national team, the Cranes has defeated Congo Brazzaville (0-1) in narrow away win at Alphonse Massamba -Debate Stadium today evening.
Travis Mutyaba breaks the deadlock for Uganda following Denis Omedi’s quickly taken corner kick.
At the start of the game Uganda suffered a significant setback when skipper Khalid Aucho limped off with an injury and was replaced by Bobosi Byaruhanga.
Midfielder Ronald Ssekiganda was booked in the 25th minute as he struggled to cope with the hosts’ pressure in the midfield.
Steven Mukwala who replaced debutant Calvin Kabuye, had an open chance to double the lead late in the game but wasn’t clinical enough.
The narrow victory means Uganda finishes second with 13 points, behind South Africa, who tops Group K with 14 points.
The final round of Group K in the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers ended with South Africa maintaining their unbeaten record, clinching the group’s top spot after a 3-0 victory over South Sudan in Cape Town.
South Africa and Uganda cranes joins the 24 qualified nations for 2025 Afcon Morocco Others include Morocco (hosts),Burkina Faso,Cameroon,Algeria,DRCongo,Senegal,Egyp,Angola,Equatorial Guinea,Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon,Tunisia,Nigeria,Zambia,Mali,Zimbabwe,Comoros, Sudan, Benin, Tanzania, Botswana and Mozambique .
This will be Uganda’s 8th appearance in the AFCON final tournament, with their last appearance being in 2019, where they were eliminated in the round of 16 by Senegal.
How Uganda Cranes Lined Up
Uganda XI: Isima Watenga (GK), Khalid Aucho, Isaac Muleme, Kenneth Semakula, Bevis Mugabi, Halidi Lwaliwa, Travis Mutyaba, Ronald Ssekiganda, Calvin Hope Kabuye, Denis Omedi, Rogers Mato
