Uganda head coach Paul Put has disclosed that his team’s draw with Tanzania ultimately cost them a place in the knockout stages of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations, SportPremi reports.
The Cranes suffered a 3-1 defeat to Nigeria in their final group clash on Tuesday, but it was their previous results that denied them a spot in the next round in Morocco.
In their opening clash against Tunisia, they suffered a disappointing defeat by the same scoreline, before they were held to a 1-1 draw by Tanzania in their second match.
In that particular clash, they played better than the Taifa Stars and should have even claimed maximum points from the match.
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Had they won the match, they would have qualified for the next round as one of the best-ranked third-placed teams, extending their stay in Morocco.
Their stoppage-time penalty miss in that encounter will live long in the memories, after their elimination at the first round.
Meanwhile, Tunisia finished second in the group and will now face Mali in the next round, while Tanzania also advance for a clash against Morocco in the knockout rounds.
Uganda eliminated from AFCON 2025 after losing to Nigeria
Uganda needed a win to book their spot in the next round of the competition, but face a tough challenge of defeating group leaders Nigeria.
Despite several alterations to the squad, it was the Super Eagles who took the early advantage and scored in the first half through Paul Onuachu.
Uganda were reduced to 10 early in the second half after substitute goalkeeper Salim Magoola was sent off for denying a goalscoring chance outside the box with his hands.
Nigeria took advantage and scored twice through Raphael Onyedika in the space of five minutes to go three goals up.
The Cranes grabbed a consolation through Rogers Mato in the 75th minute, although it proved too late as they crashed out of the competition having gathered just a single point from three matches.
The Super Eagles meanwhile, finish top of Group C and will now face either Mozambique, Cameroon or Ivory Coast in the next round.
What Paul Put said after Uganda’s elimination
Speaking after the defeat to Nigeria, Paul Put who took over as head coach of Uganda in 2023 believes his side profligacy against Tanzania cost them a place in the next round of the tournament.
“I think we shouldn’t have come looking for qualification facing Nigeria. We had the opportunity against Tanzania to qualify for the round of 16, if we had won that game we wouldn’t have the problem of facing Nigeria”, the Belgian stated.
“We were under pressure and you can’t blame this players because they don’t have the experience so they were under pressure.
“It’s always difficult facing Nigeria who has a very good team and I think we didn’t lose our qualification ticket to Nigeria, I think we lost our qualification ticket to Tanzania”, Paul Put concluded.
