Uganda U20 made a winning start to the Caf U-20 Africa Cup of Nations Cecafa qualifiers, overcoming Djibouti 4-1 at Uhuru Stadium in Dar Es Salaam. The victory puts Uganda at the top of Group B after the opening round. Isima Magala gave Uganda an early lead inside five minutes but Djibouti responded through substitute Ishak Tahir in the 23rd minute. Genesis Ocen Odiya restored Hippos’ advantage on the stroke of halftime, although coach Laryea Kingston was far from satisfied with his side’s first-half display.
The coach said his players had failed to execute the plan of keeping Djibouti pinned in its own half, slowing the game in the final third and preventing the opposition from regrouping.
‘When we lose the ball, our positioning in the attacking balance wasn’t clear,’ Kingston said, pointing to poor spacing that left Uganda vulnerable to Djibouti’s counter-attacks.
Uganda returned from the break with greater purpose and stretched the Djibouti defence and opened spaces for forwards to attack.
‘Second half we were much better and we did good runs in the box and attacked the right spaces,’ Kingston said.
Captain Richard Okello extended Uganda’s lead on 60 minutes before Magala completed his brace to make it 4-1.
Djibouti struggled to mount a response thereafter, with its attacking threat largely restricted to attempts from distance that failed to trouble Uganda’s goal.
The result gives Uganda an important opening win ahead of their remaining Group B fixture against Sudan.
The Cecafa qualifiers feature three groups, with the group winners and the best second-placed team advancing to the semi-final stage. The winners from the semis will qualify for the 2027 Afcon to be held in Ghana where four teams will qualify for the Fifa U-20 World Cup next year.
Elsewhere on the opening day, Burundi defeated South Sudan 4-0 to take early control of Group C, while hosts Tanzania beat Rwanda 3-0 in Group A.
Day One results
Uganda 4-1 Djibouti
Tanzania 3-0 Rwanda
South Sudan 0-4 Burundi