And then there were two! After days of vibrant youthful footballing action, the cast of the 2023 CECAFA U18 Boys Championship final is finally complete with Kenya, the Junior Stars, set to battle for the title with the Uganda Junior Cranes at the Jomo Kenyatta Stadium in Kisumu from 1430 Hours EAT.But before the final, the play-off match to determine which team takes third place will see Rwanda battling Tanzania at the same venue.The Junior Stars advanced to the last two of the regional showpiece after an unbeaten run in the group stages and eliminating Tanzania in a nervy penalty shootout following a barren draw in regulation time.On the other hand, the Junior Cranes slalomed into the finals after Abubaker Mayanja’s second-half strike gave them a deserved win against RwandaIt’s D-Day as Uganda battle Kenya in CECAFA U-18 Boys Championship finalhttps://t.co/6kGtGq6nOu pic.twitter.com/SWMiHoVSng— Cecafaonline (@Cecafaonline) December 8, 2023 How they got to the finalsIt has been a smooth progression for Keya from the group stage to the finals. The Junior Stars have won three and drawn one of their four games at the Championship. The Ugandans on the other hand, have won three and lost one of the four matches.The host started the campaign on high thumping Sudan 5-0 in front of a fully packed Jomo Kenyatta Stadium with Louise Ingavi, Tyron Kariuki, Aldrine Kibet, and Elly Owande leading the rout.Three days later, Kenya edged Rwanda in a 1-0 result that Kibet got onto the scoresheet with his second goal of the tournament which was enough to send the stars into the last four with a game to spare.Junior Stars storm CECAFA U18 final with shoot-out win over TanzaniaKenya’s final group match was against Somalia and despite an early setback, the young lads who have sparked the country into life football-wise were brave enough to stage a comeback and bag a 4-1 win with Humphrey Aroko, Stanley Wilson, and Kibet on the scoreboard to ensure the nation progressed strongly from the group stage.On the other side of the pitch, Uganda started the tournament on a losing note. With a 1-0 defeat to Tanzania in Group B but were brave enough to edge Zanzibar in their second match before seeing off South Sudan 2-0 in the final group game to book a date with Rwanda whom Morley Byekwaso’s boys bundled out by a solitary goal to book date in the finals.Taking to the press ahead of the finals, Junior Stars head coach Salim Babu noted that the team has prepared adequately for the match thanking the government and the Football Kenya Federation for the generous support they have accorded to the young sparkling talents throughout the tournament.”We have prepared adequately for the task ahead. Our work has been made a lot easier by the generous support we’ve received from both the government and the federation,” offered Babu.”Our initial target was to book a berth in the finals which we have already done and we’re prepared to get the job done and dusted on Friday,” he added.Anthony Akumu leaves Sagan TosuThe expert further hinted at some tactical changes and will approach the match differently in a bid to keep the gong on Kenyan soil.”We shall be approaching Uganda in a very different way compared to how we tackled Tanzania who seemed determined to defend throughout the game since they knew how we play but Uganda are a different opponent and tomorrow will be different from how we played the semifinals,” added the Kenya Police assistant coach.The Coach also called upon Kenyans to come in large numbers and motivate the team.” Our team is well prepared for the final, but we shall also need all the support,” added Babu.The home side will look to their leading scorers Kibet who has netted three goals together with Aroko and Ingavi who have two goals each.But the Ugandan coach Byekwaso Ochama who also led the Uganda team to the final of the AFCON U-20 held in Mauritania 2021 says his players have what it takes to win the final and carry the trophy back home. “It is not always easy playing a host in the final, but my team has kept improving since the tournament started and they are motivated for the final, “said the Ugandan coach.##NAJAVA_MECA_7722237##Although Uganda has not scored many goals in the Championship, they will look to the industrious Travis Mutyaba who featured in the CECAFA U-15 Championship in Eritrea in 2019, and Abubakar Mayanja who has netted two goals so far.The match kicks off at 2.30 PM.
