Football
Andrew Jackson Oryada Snr, KweséESPN 6y

KCCA triumph offers belief to Ugandan football - Desabre

Uganda head coach Sebastien Desabre believes that KCCA FC's shock victory over Al Ahly in the CAF Champions League on Tuesday should convince the nation's teams that they can beat anyone.

The Ugandan champions defeated the eight-time African champions 2-0 in a Group A clash in Namboole following goals from Ibrahim Saddam Juma and Denis Timothy Awany.

It takes them second in their group behind Esperance, and Desabre believes that their performance is testament to the burgeoning strength of the Ugandan top flight.

"I'm very happy that this win for KCCA FC will bring a lot of positivity and [belief] that Ugandan teams and players can face and beat any team," Desabre told KweséESPN.

"KCCA started that game very poorly, but they improved with time and gained a lot of confidence especially after their goalkeeper saved a penalty in the first half," Desabre added.

"[They] managed to contain the Ahly team well and absorbed the pressure, but the Egyptian team also gave KCCA a lot of space to play the ball and they got punished," he noted.

"Not all of the Ahly players looked eager to give 100% in that game."

The Frenchman, who was appointed national-team boss in December, also believes that the future's bright for the domestic heavyweights.

"I have watched KCCA several times and I am impressed with many of their young players who have what it takes to get better," he concluded.

Desabre also revealed that Uganda will face the Central African Republic and Niger in a three-way friendly tournament beginning at the end of May as they look to continue their preparations for the September's African Cup of Nations qualifiers.

"It's good that many of the foreign based players are off season and I will have them for the two games in the tournament," Desabre added.

"Although the games will not be played during a FIFA international friendly window, they will help me continue to assess the players as we plan for the AFCON qualifiers."

The Cranes launched their qualifying campaign with a vital 1-0 Group L away win over Cape Verde last year.

In September, they host Tanzania before facing Lesotho the following month.

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