The Uganda Cranes recently had two friendlies with Mali and Zambia respectively and despite the high expectations from fans, lost both of them.
The match against Mali was played on Friday 13th/10/2023 in Bamako - Mali and the Cranes lost 1-0 to the hosts. The team later flew to UAE where they prepared to play against Zambia on Tuesday 17th/10/2023.
The highly anticipated match between Zambia also ended in a disappointing 3-0 defeat to the Chipolopolo stars, with the first goal coming in the 5th minute of the first half, after Leicester City's striker Patson Daka converting a penalty.
The Zambian players returned with more energy in the second half and in the 65th minute midfielder Fashion Sakala gave the team their second goal and four minutes later, Patson Daka got his second of the night, which was Zambia's third goal.
Despite the shambolic display form the Uganda Cranes players, interim coach Morley Bekwaso had some positives from the two matches and claimed there were key things to learn despite the defeats. "We have picked several lessons from these two friendly games. Three goals sounds big but the game was close though we didn't take our chances." Byekwaso told the reporters
Byekwaso went on to highlight that the boys are good at creating chances but the concentration levels are still and that's an area that needs to be worked on as soon possible.