The Uganda Cranes returned to Mandela National Stadium in style with a 1-0 victory against Botswana in the third match of group G of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
A large number of Ugandan football fans came to the stadium to cheer on the Uganda Cranes. After securing a win, the Ugandan supporters will surely return to the stadium on Monday as the Uganda Cranes take on Algeria in the fourth game of group G.
Muhammad Shaban, the KCCA FC forward, scored the only goal of the match which brought smiles on the faces of Ugandan supporters as the Uganda Cranes returned to Mandela National Stadium after five years of playing on foreign territory.
The goal came as late as the 73rd minute when Kitara FC's Denis Omedi made a run down the right flank and passed the ball to Bobosi Byaruhanga who provided Muhammad Shaban with a beautiful pass that only required him to tap the ball in the back of the net.
Uganda Cranes skipper Khalid Aucho got injured and was replaced by SC Villa's Ronald Ssekiganda who was making his debut for the Uganda Cranes. Elia Capradosi and Joel Sserunjoji, the KCCA midfielder were also making their debuts for the Cranes.
The Cranes coach, Paul Put, decided to go with an attack minded lineup. It had two attacking midfielders, Allan Okello and Mutyaba Travis with Fahad Bayo and Steven Mukwala leading the attack.
Even with the attack minded players that Uganda Cranes had on the pitch, they still struggled to break down Botswana's defence.
Later on during the match, Coach Paul Put replaced Allan Okello with Rogers Mato who had been ruled out of the game due to late arrival.
As the game went on, more substitutions were made. Mukwala and Bwomono were replaced with Muhammad Shaban and Bobosi Byaruhanga. These substitutions saw SC Villa's captain Kenneth Ssemakula move to right back to allow Bobosi Byaruhanga to control the midfield.
As we went deeper into the game, Mutyaba Travis was also replaced by Denis Omedi. This was the decision that probably led the Cranes to victory.
Uganda is now level on points with group leaders Algeria who have six points. However, Guinea and Mozambique also have the same number of points. Algeria also leads the group on goal difference.
The Uganda Cranes are set to host Algeria next as they hope to secure a win against the group leaders. This will be difficult since Algeria were defeated by Guinea on Thursday and will also look to secure a win.
