Uganda and Algeria are set to go head-to-head at the Mandela National Stadium on Monday, both looking to pick up vital points in their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign.
The two sides are locked on six points alongside Guinea and Mozambique in a tightly contested Group G, where any dropped points could prove costly.
Match preview
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Uganda displayed resilience against Botswana, securing a narrow 1-0 victory thanks to a 74th-minute goal from Muhammad Shaban.
Despite earning the same number of points as the top two teams, Uganda currently sit third in the group due to an inferior goal difference and fewer goals scored.
Paul Put's men have enjoyed a respectable run in 2024 so far, losing only once in four outings. This solitary defeat came against Comoros by a score of 4-0, while they have managed two wins and a draw.
Having kicked off their World Cup qualifying campaign with a disappointing 2-1 loss to Guinea in November, followed by a 1-0 victory over ten-man Somalia in Morocco, Uganda will be hoping to maintain their positive momentum in this crucial encounter on Monday.
This will be the third meeting between the East Africans and the visitors. Unfortunately for Uganda, they have lost both previous encounters, which occurred during the qualifying stages for the most recent Africa Cup of Nations.
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Algeria suffered a setback in their first competitive match under the management of Vladimir Petkovic, which also marked their first defeat in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
The Fennec Foxes secured victories over Somalia and Mozambique in their opening two fixtures, but were unable to replicate this form as they fell 2-1 to Guinea on home soil.
Worryingly, all three goals in that game were scored by the Guineans, with Yasser Balde's own goal sandwiched between strikes from Morlaye Sylla and Aguibou Camara.
The Bosnian-born Swiss coach, who replaced Djamel Belmadi after a disappointing AFCON showing, will be under pressure to deliver a win in just his second competitive game in charge.
Team News
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Kampala City forward Shaban could be in contention for a place in the starting eleven after coming on as a substitute and making a difference last time out.
Bevis Mugabi is not part of the squad, which means the centre-back pairing of Halidi Lwaliwa and Isaac Muleme will likely take to the field again.
Algeria are without star winger Riyad Mahrez, who was not called up due to a knock, leaving them struggling to find another source of creative inspiration last time out.
Ramy Bensebaini, Islam Slimani and Youcef Belaili are also sidelined for this round of international matches.
AS Roma's Houssem Aouar did not see any action in Thursday's defeat, but he could play a part here as Petkovic is likely to make some changes to the team.
Uganda possible starting lineup:
Watenga; Bwomono, Lwaliwa, Muleme, Capradossi; Okello, Semakula, Ssekiganda, Mukwala; Mutyaba, Bayo
Algeria possible starting lineup:
Mandrea; Atal, Mandi, Tougaii, Ait-Nouri; Bentaleb, Aouar, Brahimi; Benrahma, Benzia, Gouiri
We say: Uganda 1-1 Algeria
Algeria appear not to have recovered from their poor AFCON outing despite changing managers, as they have just one win in their last six matches. Uganda, on the other hand, are growing in confidence with each passing game. However, we think that the visitors might get something from this game due to some individual quality.
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