Under the management of French tactician Sébastien Desabre, the Uganda Cranes enjoyed a historic run during the 2019 AFCON group stages, showcasing a more offensive and confident style of play than in previous years.
Pitted in Group A alongside the hosts Egypt, a highly-rated DR Congo, and Zimbabwe, the Cranes defied the odds.
Uganda 2–0 DR Congo: The Cranes secured a commanding opening win with goals from Patrick Kaddu and Emmanuel Okwi. This marked Uganda’s first AFCON victory since 1978.
Uganda 1–1 Zimbabwe: In a hard-fought draw, Emmanuel Okwi found the net again, while captain Denis Onyango kept the team in the game with a million-dollar save.
Uganda 0–2 Egypt: Despite the scoreline, the Cranes dominated large portions of the match against the hosts, forcing several world-class saves from the Egyptian goalkeeper.
The journey eventually ended in a fierce Round of 16 clash against Senegal. Uganda suffered a narrow 1–0 loss to the eventual finalists; Sadio Mané scored the decisive goal, though Onyango famously saved a Mané penalty later in the match.
Reflecting on this era, National Teams Officer Paul Mukatabala explained to FUFA TV why the 2019 squad outperformed the 2025 team. He pointed to a crucial difference: timing and preparation.
”People talk about Desabre, but the real difference was that the 2019 tournament took place when leagues elsewhere were on break,” Mukatabala revealed.
“Desabre was able to work with all his players from day one. He was able to ‘squeeze and cook’ them. When you have talented players, the greatest advantage is fitness, being able to cover every inch of the pitch for 90 minutes.”
Mukatabala noted that by the time the team landed in Egypt, they were at their physical peak.
“You could see it in their play; they ran DR Congo ragged and never stopped. In contrast, I believe our 2025 team lacked that level of full match fitness.”
The difference in preparation was reflected in the results: the 2025 campaign concluded with only a single point from three games, with the team conceding seven goals and scoring only twice.
The 2019 team was more settled. They had been to AFCON before. That team nixed their chances by going on strike (missing two training sessions) before the Senegal game. It was as if, they didn’t think they had a chance to win that game. So they wanted to cash in before their exit. Loser’s mindset.
The 2025 team is a hodgepodge project that was interestingly coming together nicely. Then FUFA and Paul Put made a series of mistakes.
1. Invited trouble makers and losers of 2019. FUFA let the ghosts of 2019 to take hold.
Put invited one too many CHAN players who needed to recover after CHAN. Tournaments are mentally and physically exhausting.
Too many players were unfamiliar with each other.
Too much lineup tinkering at the tournament.
Sam Simbwa, the former assistant coach, was sorely missed. FUFA’s mistake here?
The player strike. This was on FUFA and the striking players. Missing a crucial training session before a big tournament is a loser’s mentality. FUFA letting this happen after 2019 is beyond words.
What was the team’s target at AFCON? To showcase their skills and sign lucrative deals?
It all boils down to FUFA’s logistics and planning. Blaming players and coaches is a distraction. The onus is on FUFA to sort things out first and results will change on the pitch.
Events like these prepare you for the future, if you use them to learn and grow. Otherwise, you wallow in mediocrity.
Here is to hoping the Cranes live to their potential.