Uganda Cranes defeated the Democratic Republic of Congo 2-0 in an international friendly played at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Friday.
James Bogere and Kelvin Owusu Boateng scored in either half as Uganda secured victory in the first of two friendly matches between the sides during the FIFA international window.
Bogere handed Uganda the lead in the seventh minute by capitalising on the Congolese goalkeeper’s defensive mistake of misplacing a pass while attempting to build play from the back.The 18-year-old forward reacted quickly to intercept the ball, calmly finishing to put the Cranes ahead.
The goal was Bogere’s first for the senior national team, having previously featured prominently for Uganda at the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup and the 2025 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations.
Bogere continued to pose a threat with his direct running and pressing and nearly doubled Uganda’s advantage in the 38th minute when Boateng played him through on goal, but the forward failed to convert the one-on-one chance.
However, as the the Leopards dominated possession for long periods of the first half, the struggle didn’t turn their chances into goals.Theo Bongonda came close to restoring parity shortly before halftime, but his effort went wide.
Uganda returned from break with great attacking intent, doubling its advantage in the 59th minute.
Coach Paul Put then made several changes as he continued to assess players who had not featured prominently in Uganda’s opening two AFCON 2027 qualifiers, bringing on Richard Basangwa, Frank Ssebuufu, Joseph Sseremba and Sadam Masereka.
Ssebuufu came close to adding a third goal in the 82nd minute, but his hard effort struck the crossbar.
Put had said before the match that the friendlies were intended to give local players and new recruits an opportunity to demonstrate that they have the quality required at senior international level.
“It’s also the chance for the local players and the new ones who can play to show themselves and say to the coach, here I am,” he said. “I want them to give themselves on the pitch and show that they have the level of our national team.”
Put also said the result was secondary to the technical team’s assessment of the players.
“The result is not important, the important thing is that the players who didn’t play can show themselves,” He explained.
FUFA Director of communications Ahmed Hussein said the two friendly matches are part of the federation’s efforts to provide the technical team with an opportunity to assess the squad ahead of future international assignments.
“The friendly matches give the technical team an opportunity to assess different players and build competition within the squad,” he said. “The players have responded well, and the second match will provide another opportunity to continue the assessment.”
Uganda entered the Johannesburg camp after collecting four points from its opening two matches in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, drawing 1-1 with Tunisia before beating Libya 1-0 in Hoima. The Cranes are scheduled to face Botswana in their next AFCON qualifying assignments in November. The Cranes will face DR Congo again on Monday, in the second training match in Johannesburg-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
