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Afcon

Uganda Cranes pick up valuable away point as going gets tough for Sudan, Ethiopia in openers

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On Saturday, Uganda’s quest for a place in the 2015 AFCON finals in Morocco next January got off to a good start and perhaps a good omen when they stood against Ghana in a 1-1 draw in Kumasi.

Tony Mawejje netted for Uganda Cranes in the first half before Andre Ayew equalised for the Black Stars just after half-time from the penalty spot.

The home side may have stolen a point but their performance will have done nothing to appease their disgruntled supporters.

Uganda had played a friendly in mid-week, falling 0-2 to Niger in Niamey where one of the Cranes’ players, Andrew Mwesigwa, was sent off. Pundits saw this as hardly a morale booster and there were question marks on the choice of the friendly so close to a crucial tie.

However, Uganda will be vindicated by the stout performance in Kumasi. The Cranes’ only previous appearance in the AFCON finals was in Idi Amin era when, incidentally, they reached the 1978 Final against Ghana in Accra. The Cranes lost 0-2.

Ghana are a world class team and Uganda can be happy about their own potential and hopeful of being one of two teams to qualify from Group ‘E’ also including Guinea and Togo.

Other 2015 African Cup of Nations Qualifiers Results:

Sunday, Sep 7:

Group ’B’:Mali 2-0 Malawi

Saturday, Sep 6:

Group ‘A’: Nigeria 2-3 Congo

Sudan 0-3 South Africa

Group ’B’:

Ethiopia 1-2 Algeria

Group ‘C’:

Burkina Faso 2-0 Lesotho

Gabon 1-0 Angola

Group ‘D’:

DR Congo 0-2 Cameroon

Cote d’Ivoire 2-1 Sierra Leone

Group ‘E’:

Ghana 1-1 Uganda

Guinea 2-1 Togo

Group ‘F’:

Zambia 0-0 Mozambique

Niger 1-3 Cape Verde

It was a day of great drama as Congo Brazzaville beat Nigeria 3-2 in Calabar.

Disastrous

Sudan had a disastrous start to the campaign, their ridiculous preparations being exposed in a 3-0 defeat on Friday in Khartoum by South Africa who had never played the Sudanese before.

Ethiopia were also left in a deep hole following a 1-2 home loss to visiting Algeria and will have to raise themselves up during a mid-week visit to Malawi. Fortunately, it might be a good time against a demoralised Malawi who lost 0-2 to Mali on Sunday, a match that was postponed on Saturday after heavy rains.

Here is how some of the 2015 AFCON qualifying matches unfolded

Nigeria 2-3 Congo Brazzaville

Congo Brazzaville produced a shock victory by beating Nigeria 3-2 in their Group ‘A’ match in Calabar.

Even more shocking was that Congo was a last-minute replacement team for Rwanda who CAF [African Football Federation] ejected because one of the Rwanda players, Dady Birori was discovered using two different passports with different birth dates.

Nigeria fell apart in quite extra-ordinary fashion in Calabar – a reflection perhaps of the chaos engulfing Nigerian football at the moment. The reigning African champions took the lead against Congo after 13 minutes when Efe Ambrose’s header managed to find a way past Congo goalkeeper Massa Chansel.

Slack marking

But the lead did not last long as Prince Oniangue took advantage of some slack marking and equalised for the Red Devils two minutes later.

As Nigeria struggled to find drive and creativity, disaster struck.

Just moments after goalkeeper Austin Ejide had done well to keep out a superb free kick by Francis Nganga, the visitors went in front on 40 minutes when Thievy Bifouma finished off a fine move.

Penalty

Bifouma struck again in the 53rd minute when he converted a penalty awarded when he was fouled by Ogenyi Onazi inside the box.

Gbolahan Salami then gave the home side a glimmer of hope when he reduced the arrears with less than five remaining.

But the Red Devils held on for a famous victory.

Performance

Nigeria captain Austin Ejide admitted they lost to a better side.

“They dominated and deservedly won. We underrated them and paid dearly. They were more aggressive and played like the home side here. A poor performance on our part.”us

Focus

As for Congo’s Thievy Bifouma, who netted two goals for his country, he was proud of their performance.

“We worked hard. We knew we were facing a big side in Africa and we played our own game and we are proud of ourselves. We need to focus on Sudan on Wednesday now.”

Ethiopia 1-2 Algeria

Frenchman Christian Guorcuff marked his first competitive game in charge of Algeriawith a 2-1 win over Ethiopiain Addis Ababa on Saturday.

Guorcuff took over from Vahid Halilhodzic, the man who led the Desert Foxes to the knock-out stages of the World Cup, and must have been pleased with what he saw on the pitch.

Ruin

Hillel Soudani and Yasin Brahimi struck either side of half-time to ruin Portuguese coach Mariano Barreto’s first competitive as Ethiopia’s head coach.

Saladin Said gave the local fans something to shout about when he reduced the deficit from the penalty spot deep in stoppage time.

Occasions

The Walya Antelopes started brightly and threatened to score on at least two occasions in the opening 10 minutes.

But once the North Africans found their rhythm, the home side struggled to cope.

Sudan 0-3 South Africa

At Merreikh Stadium where local authorities had ordered free entry to create a charged atmosphere that home crowd cheered on their stars with great optimism. But it was utter shock and wonder whether Sudan logistics contributed to the doom of a 3-0 defeat by South Africa.

Coach Mohammed “Mazda” Abdallah had previously opted his team to play a friendly at South African neighbours Zambia. The Sudanese slumped 3-0 and had to return to Khartoum hoping to recover in time for South Africa.

Encounter

It was a bemused Sudanese side that South Africa found on their first ever encounter with Sudan at senior level.

Ephraim [Shakes] Mashaba’s first game in charge was a success as Bafana Bafana mesmerised Sudan on Friday in Omdurman.

After being pushed to their half for the better of the opening minutes, Bafana Bafana responded positively by scoring three goals in the second half to wrap up victory in grand style.

Wasteful

The Desert Hawks threw everything at Mashaba’s men, but were wasteful in front of goal whilst South African goalie Senzo Meyiwa also pulled some good saves to deny the hosts.

Two minutes into the game, Sudan forced through two corner kicks but nothing came out of it. Few minutes later, Tokelo Rantie was also gifted with two opportunities to put the visitors in the lead but failed to make good of them.

Busier

The South African defence were kept busier from both left and right flank with Ramadan Agab and Bakri Abdul Gadir attacking from either side.

The South Africans were solid in the middle marshalled by Dean Furman, relying on the counter attack led by Rantie. Bafana Bafana appeared the better team in second half and came out with a much more attacking intent. Mashaba introduced Sibusiso Vilakazi for Rantie, and the former broke the deadlock on 55 minutes from a goal mouth action.

Tap in

Four minutes later, Vilakazi doubled the lead with a bullet shot that Sudan goalie Al Moez Mahgoub could not handle for the second goal. On 79 minutes, Bongani Ndulula sealed victory with the third goal by tapping in a cross from the left.

Elsewhere Cameroon made a perfect start to life without their retired talisman Samuel Eto’o with a workmanlike 2-0 victory over an out-of-sorts DR Congo side in Lubumbashi on Saturday.

Clinton N’jie, the France-based striker, opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before Vincent Aboubakar, who plays for Porto in Portugal, doubled the advantage with eight minutes remaining.

Rotten campaign

Despite winning back-to-back Africa Cup of Nations titles in 2000 and 2002, the Indomitable Lions have failed to qualify for the past two tournaments.

Sterner tests lie ahead, with Cote d’Ivoire also in this group, but after a rotten World Cup campaign, this win will give Volke Finke’s team plenty of confidence.

Appearance

The Congolese are looking to secure a second straight appearance at the Africa Cup of Nations after crashing out of the group stage in South Africa in 2013.

But they were severely handicapped after 21 minutes when captain Youssouf Mulumbu was taken off with a hamstring injury.

Cote d’Ivoiredefeated Sierra Leone2-1 in Abidjan. Kei Kamara had put Sierra Leone ahead with Seydou Doumbia and Gervinho sealing the win for The Elephants.

Derby

Zambia and Mozambique drew 0-0 in a southern African derby at the Levy Mwanawasa stadium in Ndola.

The Mambas went into the match with the weight of history on their shoulders – in 13 previous clashes against Chipolopolo, they had lost 11 times and drawn the other two.

In Tunis, Yacine Chikaoui scored a late penalty to give Tunisia a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Botswana

Dream start

Cape Verde produced an impressive display to beat Niger 3-1 in Niamey. Spain-based midfielder Garry pounced after just three minutes to give new Blue Sharks coach Luis Aguas a dream start.

Odair Fortes doubled the advantage 11 minutes later before Ze Luis added a third in the 24th minute. Veteran Niger striker Moussa Maazou pulled one back for the hosts after 34 minutes.

Wednesday

Cape Verde lead Group F with three points, two ahead of second placed Zambia who they meet on Wednesday in Praia.

The match between Mali and Malawi in Bamako was been postponed until Sunday because of heavy rain.

In the replay, Sunday, Mali won 2-0, surviving the sending-off of goalkeeper Mamadou Samassa.

France-based Samassa was shown the red card in the second half soon after striker Bakary Sacko from English Championship side Wolverhampton Wanderers had scored for the Eagles.

Another French Ligue 1 footballer, striker Cheick Tidiane Diabate from leaders Bordeaux, assured a home victory with a stoppage-time goal.

Malawi host Ethiopia on Wednesday in the second round of group matches, while Mali are away to 1990 African champions Algeria.

– Additional reporting by BBC Sport

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Afcon

Uganda Cranes Coach McKinstry asked to step aside, to miss crucial ties

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Uganda Cranes head coach Jonathan McKinstry will miss the last two crucial games of the Total Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers after he was asked to step aside from March 3-31st.

Although the Federation of Uganda Football Association (Fufa) did not specify if McKinstry will be serving a suspension, his assistants will be in-charge when the Uganda Cranes face Burkina Faso and Malawi this month.

“The FUFA Executive Committee has asked the Head Coach of the Uganda Cranes Johnathan McKinstry to step aside from managing and coaching the team for the period from 2nd- 31st March 2021,” said a communication issued by the Federation on Tuesday night.

Fufa stated that in the absence of the head coach, assistant coaches Abdallah Mubiru, Livingstone Mbabazi and goalkeeper’s coach Fred Kajoba will take charge of the team. “FUFA will use the period to assess and monitor the performance of the team,” said the communication.

McKinstry, the former Rwanda and Sierra Leone coach became Uganda’s head coach in September 2019. He took over from Sebastien Desabre who stepped down after the Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) that took place in Morocco.

Uganda Cranes are second in Group B of the Afcon qualifiers, but will need to be at their best in the last two games to make it back to Africa’s biggest football showpiece.

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Afcon

AFCON U-20 QUALIFIERS: Kenya, South Sudan qualify for semi-finals

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The Rising Stars of Kenya and South Sudan have qualified for the semi-final stage at the on-going Zonal Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) U-20 qualifiers in Tanzania.

Kenya kick started with a hard fought 2-1 victory against Sudan in a Group B match played at the Sheikh Amri Abeid Stadium in Arusha this afternoon.

Fortune Omoto gave the Kenyan team the lead, before Al Gozoti Nooh made it 1-1 before the interval. Benson Ochieng later netted his second goal of the tournament to make sure the Rising Stars picked maximum points.

Kenya finished the top of Group B with 6 points, and will now face Uganda Hippos in the first semi-final clash on Monday.

In the second game played at the same Stadium, South Sudan defeated Burundi 4-0 in a Group B match to storm the semi-final stage as the best loser. The South Sudan team who will now face Tanzania in the semi-final stage tied on 4 points with Uganda, but had lower goal difference margin than the Hippos.

Striker William Kundu and Khamis Atari gave South Sudan a 2-0 first half lead. Burundi’s Japhet Ntunzwenimana later netted an own goal before Philip Biajo made it 4-0.

The two teams that reach the final of the Zonal qualifier will automatically qualify for the Afcon U-20 to be played next year.

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AFCON U-20 QUALIFIERS: Kenya return to action against Sudan

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Kenya’s Rising Stars return to action this afternoon in their second Group C match at the on-going Zonal Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) U-20 qualifiers at the Sheikh Amri Abeid Stadium, Arusha.

After registering a comfortable 3-0 win against Ethiopia, the Rising Stars are favourites to pick maximum points against a Sudan side that showed defensive challenges in their 3-2 loss to Ethiopia.

Kenya’s coach Stanley Okumbi said he expects his players to perform better against Sudan today than they did in the opening group match. “The boys gave a good account of themselves in the first match against Ethiopia, and I am confident that we can do even better tomorrow,” said coach Okumbi.

He will hope that Benson Omala, Ronald Reagan and Enock Wanyama who scored in the win against Ethiopia find their scoring touch again today.

Sudan who lost 2-1 to the Rising Star in a friendly match played in Nairobi few weeks ago will miss the services of head coach Mounir Lehbab who was sent off during the game against Ethiopia.

The second game at Sheikh Amri Abeid Stadium will see Burundi battle South Sudan in a Group B clash. South Sudan opened their campaign with a goalless draw against Uganda Hippos, before Burundi suffered a 6-1 loss to Uganda.

After the group stages today, action will shift to the semi-final stage on Monday, while the final and play-off take place on December 2nd. The best two teams will qualify for the Afcon U-20 to take place next year.

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AFCON U-20 QUALIFIERS: Eight star Tanzania book semi-final berth

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Hosts Tanzania have humbled Somalia 8-1 in a Group A match at the on-going zonal Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) U-20 qualifier on Thursday.

The comfortable win sent Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Heroes top of Group A with six points and straight to the semi-finals.

Skipper Kelvin Pius John who also plays for Leicester City Academy in England netted a hattrick to guide the home side to yet another big win.

Abdul Hamisi Suleiman gave Tanzania the lead three minutes into the game, before Sahal Muhumed made it 1-1 three minutes later.

The Ngorongoro Heroes showed more dominance scoring more goals through Ben Sarrkie, before Kelvin Pius John scored two goals to make it 4-0 at the interval.

After recess The Tanzanian team continued to attack in numbers before Kassim Haruna scored after 47 minutes to make it 5-1. Kelvin Pius John completed his hattrick with a goal in the 60th minute. Frank George and substitute Anuar Jabir put the icing on the cake with two more goals.

Tanzania who started their campaign with a 6-1 win over Djibouti are now the highest scoring team in the tournament with 14 goals and two conceded. They will wait to face the best loser in the semi-final stage.

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