Saturday, May 16
Group B
•Uganda Vs Cameroon – 7pm
•DR Congo Vs Ivory Coast
Table
- Uganda – 3
- Ivory Coast – 3
- Cameroon – 0
- DR Congo – 0
Uganda Cubs will be targeting a place at the FIFA U17 World Cup when they face Cameroon in their second group game of the AFCON U17 in Morocco.
The Cubs got their campaign off to a dream start when they beat DR Congo 3-0 to top Group B.
Captain Owen Mukisa, Nicholas Kawooya and Abdushakur Babi were all on target in an explosive performance from the Cubs on Wednesday.
The top two teams in each group reach the knockout and also qualify for the World Cup!
A win on Saturday will seen Uganda’s place at the World Cup later this year in Qatar.
“It was a very good performance. To say I am satisfied — yes, definitely. Every team dreams of winning their first game in a competition because the opening match is always very important.
“Mentally, I think the occasion affected some of the players a little bit because most of them are very young and for many of them it was their first time travelling outside Uganda. We did not start the game very well, but as the match progressed, the boys settled down.
“Everything we taught them, they stuck to the game plan and gradually started expressing themselves. From a technical perspective, myself and my staff are very pleased with the performance.”
Africa is assigned ten slots for the U17 World Cup, with the two additional slots decided through playoffs at the AFCON U17 tournament.
Under Coach Brian Ssenyondo last year, Uganda qualified for the World Cup through the playoffs.
But Laryea Kingston’s charges will fancy their chances of sealing direct qualification this time round
“For the players, it would be an opportunity to test themselves on the world stage and gain invaluable experience. For the country, it would show that the youth development structures are moving in the right direction.”
He added: “At the moment, though, we are taking things one game at a time.”
The Cubs will be missing Travor Mubiru who was sent off in the opener after a second yellow card for deliberate handball.
Cameroon, two-time champions, lost 2-0 to Ivory Coast in their opening fixture.
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