By Kei Emmanuel Duku
Uganda has qualified for the 2025 AFCON of nations in Morocco with two games to spare after beating South Sudan’s Bright Stars 2:1 in Juba Stadium on Tuesday evening.
Uganda took the lead in 15 minutes of the first half through Denise Omedi, however 6 minutes later Yahanna Paulino Juma equalized for the Bright Stars.
Denise Omedi came close doubling the score line but his long-range shots outside the penalty went wide in the 34 minutes.
In a game that was much dominated by the Uganda Cranes, South Sudan’s best opportunity came in the 4 added minutes when Yahanna Paulino Juma would have added his second goal of the evening from a corner kick but his effort passed the post as the first half ended 1:1.
In the second half, Uganda Cranes came firing from all the sides of the field with Denise Omedi giving the home team defense hard times.
Knowing very well that a win against South Sudan and South Africa Congo Brazzaville later, Uganda Cranes Head Coach Paul Put introduced Steve Dese Mukwala and Jude Ssemugabi in the 55 minutes to strength the attack.
Nine minutes after the substitution, it resulted in a well-executed free kick by Travis Mutyaba which unfortunately resulted in the most vital goal to send Uganda Cranes to the 2025 AFCON Qualifiers as Alfred Laku scored an own goal in the 64 minutes.
This is the second defeat for the Bright Stars against Uganda in a space of five days after they were beaten 1:0 at Mandela National Stadium last week on Friday.
With the defeat, South Sudan has bowed out of the AFCON Qualifiers with zero points from 4 matches played and remains at the bottom of the table.
Uganda Cranes’ victory on October 15th has strengthened its position at the top of the table with 10 points ahead of Bafana Bafana who played Congo Brazzaville later on the day.
Should South Africa who won against Congo Brazzaville will join Uganda Cranes as they tied up with 10 points and automatically earn a slot in the AFCON finals in Morocco.