10th June 2024 đź“Ť Mandela National Stadium đź•– 7:00 PM Uganda Cranes will hope to ride on the momentum of their victory over Botswana at the weekend, when they face bogey side Algeria today. Another mamoth crowd is expected to support the national football team in their second match since the re-opening of Namboole, and it will drown out the 10 Algerian supporters who traveled to Kampala to support their team. Uganda are third on the table of the World Cup qualifying Group G, but have similar points with the top two.
Victory today will put them in pole position. Head Coach Paul Put is expected to send out a similar side to that which started against Botswana, before switching tactics in the second half like he did at the weekend. Substitute Muhammad Shaban netted the lone goal after 74 minutes to send the fans on their feet at the refurbished Mandela National Stadium.
Shaban capitalized on another substitute Denis Omedi’s cross to place the ball past Botswana’s goalkeeper Goitseone Phoko. Earlier in the first half, striker Fahad Bayo and Steven Mukwala missed some decent scoring chances for Uganda Cranes. Vincent Sesiyi Thabang also had his shot miss the target for Botswana after the interval.
After taking the lead, the home team continued to trouble Botswana with lots of attacks orchestrated by Shaban, Rogers Mato and Bobosi Byaruhanga, while Italian based defender Elio Capradossi, who was making his debut for Uganda, put up a man of the match performance with good in.
