NEWS
AFCON QUALIFIERS: Tricky home ties for Uganda, Rwanda
Five teams from the Council of East and Central African Football (CECAFA) region will be in action later today in the Total Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.
Regional giants Uganda Cranes will host Burkina Faso in a Group B match at the St. Marys Stadium, Kitende in what promises to be a thriller.
Uganda are second in the group with 7 points, and victory for them against Burkina Faso who lead with 8 points will see them qualify for their third straight AFCON. “We need to focus and to get a good result against Burkina Faso because the game is very important before we even travel to face Malawi next week,” said Uganda Cranes assistant coach Abdallah Mubiru.
The Bright Star of South Sudan who picked their first three points in the 1-0 win against Uganda will host Malawi in another Group B match at the Al Hilal Stadium in Khartoum Sudan. The South Sudan team play all their away matches away from home because the Juba National Stadium is still under renovation.
Rwanda who are bottom of Group F will host second placed Mozambique in Kigali is a game they must win if they hope to turn their campaign round. The Amavubi are riding on the motivation picked from the Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) where they reached the quarter final stage.
Cameroon lead Group F with 10 points, while Mozambique and Cape Verde have 4 points each, and Rwanda only 2 points.
Sudan who play away to bottom placed Sao Tome & Principe in Group C will have to be at their best to collect maximum points to brighten their chances of qualification.
The Sudan team are third in the Group with 6 points, but both table leaders Ghana and South Africa are tied on 9 points.
Ethiopia under new coach Wubetu Abate will also be hungry to collect maximum points at home when they host Madagascar in a Group K match. “We have prepared well and we must play with caution and take our chances,” said Abate.
Ethiopia are third in the Group with 6 points, while Ivory Coast and Madagascar have 7 points each, and Niger bottom of the log with 3 points.
Two other teams from the CECAFA region Kenya and Tanzania will be in action on Thursday against Egypt and Equatorial Guinea respectively. On Friday Burundi will host the Central African Republic in a Group E match in Bujumbura.
Two teams from the CECAFA Zone Rwanda and Sudan have collected wins in the group stage of the 2027 TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
The Amavubi saw off Liberia 3-1 in a Group K match played at the Amahoro Stadium in Kigali on Friday evening.
Playing in-front of the Football loving President Paul Kagame, Abeddy Biramahire gave the hosts the lead after onlyt two minutes to send the fans cheering.
Joy-Lance Michels netted his first goal in national colours with a second goal after 33 minutes. But the visitors pulled one back through Sylvanus Nimely five minutes later.
Rwanda were awarded a penalty before the interval, and the FK Shabah striker Joy-Lance Micheals made no mistake from the spot. The were no goals in the second half.
In another match played on Friday, in a battle of CECAFA teams Sudan edged Ethiopia in a Group J match played at the Juba National Stadium in South Sudan. Mohamed Mamoun Eisa netted the lone goal late in the second half.
South Sudan, Somalia and Burundi suffered away defeats in ohter matches played on Friday. South Sudan lost 2-1 to Malawi in Group B tie, while Somalia also lost 2-1 away to The Gambia. Burundi fell 1-0 to Togo in a match played at the Regue Stadium in Lome.
On Thursday Uganda Cranes picked a point away to Tunisia after a 1-1 draw in the Group H match, while Tanzania suffered a 2-0 defeat to Guinea Bissau in a Group L match played at the New Amaan Stadium in Zanzibar.
Kenya will host Eritrea in a Group D match in Nairobi on Saturday.
CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations
Sudan edge Tanzania in penalty shoot-outs to win AFCON U-20 qualifiers
Sudan are the winners of the 2027 TotalEnergies CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) CECAFA qualifiers.
The Sudan team stunned hosts Tanzania in the final played at the Uhuru Stadium in Dar es Salaam on Thursday evening.
After an explosive 90 minutes that ended goalless, the match went to an extra 30 minutes of play.
Sudan went off the blocks first with Omer Hamd headlining home after 93 minutes.
But the Ngorongoro Boys cheered on by the home fans fought back strongly and leveled matters after 112 minutes through Abdulnassir Abdallah. In the penalty shoot-outs Sudan edged Tanzania 4-3.
It was all celebrations for the Sudan team who also qualified for the TotalEnergies CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) after 13 years of waiting.
“This has been a successful mission for us and I thank my boys for the good job. We qualified for U-20 AFCON and now we have lifted the Cup,” said Sudan’s happy coach Salaheldin Ahmed Nuoreldin Ahmed.
In an earlier play-off match Uganda defeated Burundi 2-0. Derrick Ssozi and Ashraf Kyakuwa netted the goals to guide Uganda to win bronze.
The Zonal qualifiers attracted nine teams; Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi, South Sudan, Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Djibouti.
Mazin Fadul Albahli Taour has said winning the Best player’s Award in the Zonal AFCON U-20 qualifiers has excited him.
The Sudan player was voted Best Player of the AFCON U-20 CECAFA qualifiers which ended on September 24th at the Unhuru Stadium in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Mazin Fadul played a pivotal role helping Sudan edge Tanzania in penalties 4-3 in the final after the match had ended 1-1.
“This Award has really excited me and I will continue to work even harder. It is very good to see Sudan qualify for the AFCON U-20 after over ten years,” said the player.
Tanzania’s Shaban Bakari was voted Best Goalkeeper, while Burundi’s Amini Nshimirimana scooped the Top scorer’s Award after netting four goals.
While Sudan picked gold and a trophy, Tanzania settled for silver, while Uganda bagged bronze. Tanzania also scopped the Fair Play Trophy.
Wallace Karia, the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) President and CAF Executive Member, TFF Vice President Athumani Nyamlani, Sudan Football Association (SFA) Head of Delegation Mohamed Abdalla Magzoub and CECAFA Interim Executive Director Jean Sseninde graced the Awards ceremony.
Tanzania have qualified for the 2027 TotalEnergies CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON)
The Ngorongoro Boys secured their place after humbling Burundi 2-0 in the second semi-final match of the CECAFA Zonal qualifiers played at the Uhuru Stadium in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday.
Juma Abushiri gave Tanzania the lead after 17 minutes after Burundi’s goalkeeper Omari Niyonkuru failed to punch away a curving ball off a corner kick.
The Burundi team who won all their two matches in the group stage tried to push forward, but the Tanzanian defenders stood firm.
Tanzania increasing their lead after Faraji Kayanda got his name on the score sheet after 33 minutes when he tapped in from close range after a quick counter attack.
After recess, the Burundi team made a switch to their tactical approach and started creating more scoring opportunities. Tanzania’s goalkeeper Shabani Bakari made some good saves to deny Burundi any opportunity to find goals.
Tanzania now join Burundi in the 2027 TotalEnergies CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as representatives from the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) Zone. The two teams will face-off on Thursday to decide who wins the regional title.
The regional qualifiers attracted nine teams; Tanzania, Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, Burundi, South Sudan, Djibouti, Kenya and Rwanda.
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