Uganda and Tanzania will be eager to bounce back from heavy defeats in their opening matches when they face off in a crucial Group A encounter at the TotalEnergies CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco.
The highly anticipated showdown is set to take place at the El Bachir Stadium in Mohammedia on Thursday, kicking off at 17:00 local time (GMT).
Both teams endured tough starts to their campaigns. Uganda suffered a bruising 5-0 loss to tournament hosts Morocco, while Tanzania also struggled, falling 4-1 to Zambia.
Now, with their hopes of advancing hanging in the balance, the two East African nations will be determined to claim their first points of the competition.
This fixture marks only the second time these sides have met at the U-17 AFCON finals.
Their previous encounter came in 2019, also in the second round of group matches, when Uganda secured a dominant 3-0 victory over then-hosts Tanzania in Dar es Salaam.
However, neither team managed to progress beyond the group stage on that occasion.
The history between these two nations extends beyond the AFCON finals.
They recently faced each other in the qualifiers for this year’s tournament, playing to a 1-1 draw in the group stage before Uganda edged Tanzania 2-1 in the final match to book their ticket to Morocco.
Notably, in both encounters during the qualifiers, Tanzania took the lead but failed to hold on for victory.
As they prepare to meet again, Uganda and Tanzania will be fully aware of the high stakes.
A win would not only revive their hopes of making it past the group stage but also provide much-needed confidence after their opening setbacks.
Leave feedback about this