KAMPALA: Uganda Cranes roared back into contention for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers with a dominant 4-0 victory over Mozambique at a fan-filled Mandela National Stadium, Namboole, on Friday evening.
Vipers SC forward Allan Okello opened the scoring in the 48th minute with a thunderous strike from outside the box, setting the tone for a second-half blitz that was filled with a flurry of goals.
Rogers Mato, who plays for Macedonian First Football League club Vardar, then stole the show with a brace in the 70th and 84th minutes, his first a curling finish before calmly slotting home his second after a fine chest control inside the six-yard box.
The icing on the cake came at the death when defender Elio Capradossi scored his first Uganda goal in the 90th minute, sealing a heavy defeat for the Mambas who appeared rusty and had little threat against Salim Jamal in Cranes goals on the evening.
The Cranes had wasted several chances in a cagey first half, with the Southern Africa side standing firm to frustrate Paul Put’s men.
But the restart brought a shift in tempo, and the Cranes never looked back once Okello broke the deadlock to avenge their 3-1 loss in Maputo during the reverse fixture in March this year.
The win sends Uganda to second place with 12 points, while Algeria who stopped Botswana lead with 18 points. In a second Group G match also played in Kampala Somalia suffered a 3-0 defeat to Guinea.
In a Group E away match played Tanzania picked a late 1-1 win against Congo Brazzaville to remain in second place. Decham Moussavou gave the hosts the lead, but Selemani Mwalimu leveled matters after 84 minutes.
In other matches played CECAFA teams suffered defeats with Kenya suffering a 3-1 defeat to The Gambia in a Group F match played in Nairobi, while South Sudan also lost 4-1 to DR Congo in a Group B match played at the Juba National Stadium.
Djibouti who were reduced to 10-men after Yabe Siad Isman was sent off suffered a heavy 6-0 defeat to Burkina Faso in a Group A encounter, while Senegal saw off Sudan 2-0 in a Group tie.
Burundi and Ethiopia suffered 1-0 and 2-0 away defeats to Ivory Coast and Egypt in Group F and Group A matches respectively.
Full Results
Results
Congo Brazzaville 1 Tanzania 1
Somalia 0 Guinea 3
Kenya 1 The Gambia 3
South Sudan 1 DR Congo 4
Uganda 4 Mozambique 0
Djibouti 0 Burkina Faso 6
Senegal 2 Sudan 0
Ivory Coast 1 Burundi 0
Egypt 2 Ethiopia 0
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