Uganda Cranes’ hopes of making it to the African Cup of Nations next year were dealt a major blow when they suffered a 2-1 defeat to Algeria, a result that leaves them three points behind Tanzania, who occupy the second spot in the group.Heading into the game, Uganda knew that they needed to win as Tanzania had leapfrogged them to second on the log in group F with their 1-0 win over Niger at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar earlier in the day.##NAJAVA_MECA_7328606##They also understood that they faced a solid side, but Algeria’s decision to bench star-men such as captain Riyad Mahrez, Nabil Bentaleb, Said Benrahma, Islam Slimani, and Baghdad Bounedjah gave Cranes a glimpse of hope.The match was largely balanced early on, but Algeria slowly took charge of the clash and started to run the affairs, creating numerous chances that the second-string side could not take. Just as it looked like that first half would end barren, Lugano winger Mohamed El Amine Amoura found the back of the net after a combination of errors from a defender and Uganda keeper Jamal Salim.Uganda showed promise after the interval, but wastefulness saw them fail to level the scores, and they got punished in the 66th minute when substitutes Bentaleb and Mahrez combined to set up Amine for his second of the game and end Uganda’s hopes of getting anything out of the game. Fahad Bayo pulled a goal back two minutes from time, but it proved to be a consolation.Algeria, who top group F, will end the campaign at home with a match against Tanzania, and Uganda have to beat Niger away from home and hope that Tanzania do not get anything out of the game against the 2019 winners to qualify.In group B, goals from Ahoueke Steeve Kevin Denkey, and Euloge Mèmè Placca helped Togo beat Eswatini 2-0 to give them a slim hope of making it to the continental showpiece. Eswatini end the campaign with an away game against Burkina Faso, while Togo host Cape Verde.NSL: Shabana, Murang’a seal FKFPL promotion slotsAFRICA CUP OF NATIONSQualifiers – Round 5SaturdayCentral Africa – Angola 1-2 (0-1)/Kondogbia 46 – Gaspar 12, Milson 86/Zambia – Ivory Coast 3-0 (1-0)/Aurier 31 og, Daka 28, Kangwa 31/Lesotho – Comoros 0-1 (0-0)/ M’Changama 90/South Africa 2-1 (1-0) Morocco / Munir Mohamedi 5 og, Zakhele Lepasa 48- Ziyech 60/Equatorial Guinea 1-0 (0-0) Tunisia /Nsue 85p/Botswana 1-0 (1-0) Libya/ Gape Mohutsiwa 45/Benin 1-1 (0-1) Senegal/ Abdoul Rachid Moumini 78, Abdoulaye Seck 43/SundayRwanda 0-2 (0-1) Mozambique/ Geny Catamo 43, Clesio Bauque 90+4/ Tanzania 1-0 (0-0) Niger/Simon Msuva 69/Madagascar 0-0 Ghana Eswatini 0-2 (0-1) Togo/ Kevin Denkey14, Euloge Placca 90+2/ Uganda 1-2 (0-1) Algeria/ Mohamed El Amine Amoura 42,66, Fahad Bayo 88/19:00: (7.25) Sierra Leone (4.40) Nigeria (1.45)19:00: (2.40) Cape Verde (3.10) Burkina Faso (3.20)19:00: (4.10) Congo (3.15) Mali (2.05)21:00: (2.30) Gabon (3.10) Dr Congo (3.40)***odds are subject to change***
