Two late goals were enough to give Uganda a 2-0 victory over a stubborn Ethiopia in a 2026 CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Friday at the Hams Stadium in Nakivubo, Uganda.
With the match heading for a stalemate, it took a moment of brilliance from the hosts to turn the result around.
After being fouled just outside the penalty box, Zainah Namuleme picked herself up and scored from a ferocious free kick to send the home crowd into a frenzy as they took the lead on the stroke of fulltime.
But the drama was not over yet.
Fazila Ikwaput put the result beyond doubt in referee’s optional time to hand Uganda a hard-fought but crucial 2-0 victory.
Head coach Sheryl Botes says they know it is going to be another tough day at the office when they meet in the second leg.
“It’s not going to be easy going to Ethiopia, with this 2-0 lead we are not naive to think that the job is done the job – it is far from over. We know now what works for. The good part is I’m happy that we had the first leg at home because I’m told playing away in Ethiopia is even far more difficult, so those are things that we have to prepare ourselves,” said Botes after the win.
The South African has made it clear that the only way to return victorious is to go on the offensive against Ethiopia.
“I thought overall a good display from us, really proud of the players. But we’re not going to Ethiopia to sit back, that’s not what we’re going to do, we want to put the pressure there, we want to put the pressure in their defense of third. If we sit back, we’re going to let them to come at us. It was a good experience, and the good thing is we won, and it was a good starting point,” added Botes.
The Crested Cranes mentor was however concerned about some challenges which the match exposed.
“This game also showed me players that you thought would be able to do certain things for you, but they struggled under pressure. The good thing for me is that we had substitutes that could make the difference and those are things that we need to do,” said Botes.
“Yes, it’s a WAFCON qualifier but you’ve got to believe in the players that you bring on the bench that they can make the impact. But that is the maturity that we would want in our players to have, have the confidence run at these people, it doesn’t have to be against Ethiopia. It must be the mindset; it has to be against every team that’s coming to Uganda. If we lose, we must lose with a fighting spirit that we left everything on the pitch. So, the girls must learn the fight from the word go.”
The two nations will meet again on Wednesday (26 February) with the overall winner tackling one between Tanzania or Equatorial Guinea in the second round scheduled for October.
Ethiopia has made only three appearances at the WAFCON, in 2002, 2004 and in 2012, while the Crested Cranes played in the 2000 edition in South Africa and recently in the 2022 tournament in Morocco.
SECOND ROUND FIXTURES:
October 2025
| Angola/Zimbabwe | v | Malawi |
October 2025
| Malawi | v | Angola/Zimbabwe |
October 2025
| Botswana/DR Congo | v | South Africa |
October 2025
| South Africa | v | Botswana/DR Congo |
October 2025
| Tanzania/Equatorial Guinea | v | Uganda/Ethiopia |
October 2025
| Uganda/Ethiopia | v | Tanzania/Equatorial Guinea |
October 2025
| Eswatini/Namibia | v | Zambia |
October 2025
| Zambia | v | Eswatini/Namibia |
October 2025
| Burundi/Burkina Faso | v | Djibouti/Togo |
October 2025
| Djibouti/Togo | v | Burundi/Burkina Faso |
October 2025
| South Sudan/Algeria | v | Cameroon |
October 2025
| Cameroon | v | South Sudan/Algeria |
October 2025
| Rwanda/Egypt | v | Ghana |
October 2025
| Ghana | v | Rwanda/Egypt |
October 2025
| Kenya/Tunisia | v | Niger/Gambia |
October 2025
| Niger/Gambia | v | Kenya/Tunisia |
October 2025
| Benin/Sierra Leone | v | Nigeria |
October 2025
| Nigeria | v | Benin/Sierra Leone |
October 2025
| Guinea/Cape Verde | v | Gabon/Mali |
October 2025
| Gabon/Mali | v | Guinea/Cape Verde |
October 2025
October 2025
By Matlhomola Morake
