Uganda beat Somalia to qualify for AFCON U17 - Photo Courtesy FUFA Media.
Uganda Cranes head coach Brian Ssenyondo has revealed his plans to face Tanzania in the final of the CECAFA Zone at the TotalEnergies CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) on December 27.
The Young Cubs alongside Tanzania have already qualified for the 2025 U17 AFCON scheduled for Morocco in 2025. The two teams’ secured qualification on Tuesday after Tanzania stopped South Sudan 4-0, and Uganda saw off Somalia 4-1 in the semi-final matches played at the Nakivubo Hamz Stadium in Kampala.
Despite the qualification, Uganda will face Tanzania to determine the winner and speaking after earning qualification, Ssenyondo explained why the Cubs will need to go the drawing board ahead of the Tanzania fixture.
“I am delighted that the boys have worked hard and qualified for the U-17 AFCON and also reached the final. We now need to go back to the drawing board and plan for the final against Tanzania,” Ssenyondo told Pan-Africa Football.
“We know the kind of game to expect from Tanzania but we must be prepared, we don’t have to underrate them. They have been one of the strongest sides in the tournament so far so we must prepare accordingly.”
On beating Somalia to qualify for the AFCON, Ssenyondo said: “We are delighted to go for the AFCON, it was one of our targets to qualify, and qualifying means we have achieved some of the targets we set when I assembled this team.
“Somalia were the defending champions and played well, they pushed us and when the game was 2-1 they really tried to come but our third and fourth goal sealed it.”
After missing so many scoring opportunities, Uganda Cubs took the lead at the stroke of halftime with a goal by Abubakali Walusimbi before James Bogere doubled their lead in the 58th minute.
Subtitute Ibrahim Osman pulled Somalia into the game with a beautifully taken effort in the 70th minute but a brace from Bogere killed their comeback plans.
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