Overview:
Uganda Cranes perfectly reacted from the 0-3 blushes against Algeria and now have three points, same as Guinea who had beaten Niger 1-0 in the opener.
Allan “Jolly” Okello remains a special player any football coach would name to his line-up.
The left-footed gem is a playmaker and a team player with brilliant skills to unlock even the tightest of all defences.
Against West African opposition Guinea during the CHAN 2024 championship at the Mandela National Stadium in Kampala, Okello stood out to be counted during the hosts’ comprehensive 3-0 victory before a sea of fans.
Donning shirt 21, Okello was involved in almost every offensive move for Uganda Cranes, passed the ball and shot at free will before he won and scored the resultant penalty, Uganda Cranes’ second goal on the evening.
Okello was stripped of the captaincy as defender Rogers Torach Ochaki, also a teammate at Vipers Sports Club, commanded the national army on the day.
The decision only energised the Vipers’ playmaker, deployed as an inverted winger on the right and showcased glimpses of brilliance with confidence, awesome ball control, explicit passing and he shot often.
Before Okello’s goal, Reagan Mpande had put Uganda Cranes ahead with a perfect header.
Substitute Ivan Ahimbisibwe beat the offside trap before evading the advancing goalkeeper Ousmane Camara of Flamme Olympique football club to slot the ball into an empty net for goal number three.
The crowd at Namboole Stadium erupted and was overjoyed. Okello later paved way for Arafat Usama in the closing minutes of the game.
At the end of the match, Okello was deservedly named as man of the match.
Uganda Cranes perfectly reacted from the 0-3 blushes against Algeria and now have three points, the same as Guinea, who had beaten Niger 1-0 in the opener.
Algeria commands Group C with four points as South Africa has a point earned from the one-all draw with the Algerians.
Group C action resumes on Monday, 11th August 2025, with yet another double header. South Africa faces a wounded Guinea in the early kick-off (5 PM) before Uganda takes on Niger at 8 PM.
Allan okello,did everything as an inverted winger from left to the middle of the park but he still lacks the last decision,so he should change his mind we would have scored like 4 to 5goals,there was where he was supposed to cross the ball through from left to right of 18yard box then he failed to do so,and he wanted to score by him self yet giving an assist it’s also a contribution to the goals,so as playmaker when u cross the opponent half u should now look for the spaces in forward by supplying the ball to the person in position to score than him self.but he did well and well done waiting for Niger as a must win we go to six point with 2goals difference.