The Uganda U17 Men’s National Team, the Uganda Cubs, kicked off their international build-up to the FIFA U17 World Cup with a 1–1 draw against Venezuela at Al Arabi Sports and Cultural Club in Dubai on Thursday evening.
For Head Coach Brian Ssenyondo the result was less about the scoreline and more about the progress he saw in his young players through their discipline, confidence and ability to translate training sessions into match situations.
The Cubs arrived in Dubai two days earlier for a 10-day intensive camp designed to fine-tune their tactical and physical readiness for the global tournament set for 3rd to 27th November in Qatar. Their opening match of the World Cup will be against Canada on 5th November and this friendly was seen as the first true test against international opposition outside Africa.
‘A tough game it was but again we dominated from the first minute,’ Ssenyondo said after the match. ‘But if you look at the entire game throughout the first half we would have gone to the break with about five goals because we created a lot of chances. In the second half we would have converted like three or four from the many chances we created.’
The opening stages of the match were owned by Uganda with vibrant attacking play and control of possession. The Cubs displayed confidence on the ball, dictated the tempo and spread play across the pitch with precision. For much of the first half they kept Venezuela pinned back and created several goal-scoring opportunities that narrowly went wide or were stopped by the South American goalkeeper.
The breakthrough came seven minutes into the second half when forward Bogere James capitalised on a moment of brilliance from midfielder Isima Mulala Magala who split Venezuela’s defence with a perfectly timed through ball. With only the goalkeeper to beat Bogere showed composure beyond his age, dribbling past him before slotting the ball into an empty net to send the Ugandan bench into celebration.
However, the game took a different turn midway through the second half as Venezuela regrouped, pushed numbers forward and began to test Uganda’s defensive organisation. Their persistence paid off in the 74th minute when they worked a quick throw-in, caught Uganda’s defence off guard and fired in an equaliser past goalkeeper Mazige Gilbert.
The tempo intensified as both teams searched for a late winner. In the dying moments of added time Uganda nearly restored their lead. Bogere, lively throughout the game, made a dazzling run down the right flank and delivered a teasing cross that confused the Venezuelan defenders. The ball fell perfectly to Isima Mulala who struck first time but saw his effort sail agonisingly inches over the bar.
The whistle blew shortly after, ending what was a physically demanding yet encouraging contest for the Cubs.
‘Now what we need to do is to score more than the opponent or keep a clean sheet and if we do that we are good to go,’ Coach Ssenyondo added. ‘Despite the missed chances I am very happy as a coach to see how the boys have been coordinating on the pitch through combination play, mobility, making runs and building from the back through the middle third to the final third. The boys have been doing everything we do at training.’
The coach also emphasised the importance of facing strong opponents like Venezuela during this preparation period and described the match as a valuable test of mental strength and adaptability.
‘Venezuela was a very good test for us and yes we have got a taste of what we are going to see at the World Cup. But overall the game was good.’
The Uganda Cubs will play their second friendly on Sunday against Panama.
