Talking points from Uganda Cranes during the elongated international window

Uganda Cranes ended an extended international break with a 1-1 draw against DR Congo at the FNB stadium in Johannesburg on Monday with James Bogere scoring a late equaliser to salvage a draw.

During the period, Uganda played four matches against three opponents and Ismael Kiyonga highlights the talking points from Paul Put’s lads.

First International Matches Since AFCON 2025: This window marked Uganda’s return to action for the first time since their clash against Nigeria on December 30 at the AFCON 2025 in Fes, Morocco. It followed a string of cancelled camps, including a planned trip to Turkey and Zanzibar in June.

Unbeaten International Window: Paul Put’s lads emerged completely unbeaten (W2, D2) from four matches against three distinct opponents. This run included a draw away to Tunisia, a 1-0 victory over Libya in Hoima City in the TotalEnergies Afcon Pamoja 2027 qualifiers, and a 2-0 win and a 1-1 draw against DR Congo at the FNB stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa. These results are expected to positively boost Uganda’s upcoming FIFA world rankings.

The Switch to a New Defensive System: Moving away from the traditional back-four (4-2-3-1 or 4-4-2) formats used by previous managers, Paul Put deployed a back-three system (3-4-3 or 3-5-2) with two defensive-minded wingbacks and was maintained through despite change in personnel. This tactical shift was devised to fix defensive vulnerabilities exposed during their abysmal AFCON 2025 campaign where Cranes were easy to play through.

The Massive Influx of Heritage Players: FUFA successfully integrated seven new players of Ugandan heritage who all made their debuts this window.

Kelvin Boateng, Arnold Vula, Abdoulaye Sissako, Dieudonne Gaucho Debohi, Souleymane Diaby, David Udoh and Kingdom Osayi joined Noble Okello and Nathan Asiimwe to debut.

FUFA further confirmed actively working with the Ministry of Education and Sports and the National Council of Sports to track more heritage targets ahead of the November window, including Burnley’s Bashir Humphreys.

Debutants Stamping Their Authority: Out of a massive pool of debutants, several new faces left a lasting impression:

• Nathan Asiimwe: Exceeded expectations on the right wing, providing a world-class assist for Rogers Mato against Tunisia and solidifying his claim to the right-back spot.
• Abdoulaye Sissako: The former French youth international brought much-needed midfield confidence, demonstrating an impressive ability to carry the ball forward and assisting Kelvin Boateng’s goal against DR Congo.
• Kelvin Boateng & Arnold Vula: Both found the back of the net, with Boateng impressing with his overall work rate and Vula scoring a historic winner at Hoima City stadium.
• Kingdom Osayi & David Udoh: Both new goalkeepers put up strong performances when called upon in the two friendlies against DR Congo.

UPL Goalkeepers Left out: Head coach Paul Put heavily rotated his squad, fielding every single summoned player except for two local-based Uganda Premier League (UPL) goalkeepers: Hannington Ssebwalunyo (NEC) and David Lukwago (SC Villa). The strong form of newly introduced heritage keepers Osayi and Udoh leaves a massive question mark over whether local league keepers can break back into the starting setup.

Hoima City Makes Ugandan Football History: For the very first time, the Uganda Cranes hosted a major football match outside of central Uganda (Kampala and Wakiso). The Hoima City Stadium served as the historic venue, where Arnold Vula etched his name into folklore by scoring the first-ever international goal at the new arena. Can it become a new fortress?

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