Uganda host Ethiopia in familiar U-17 WWC qualification campaign

Like he has always done, coach Ayub Khalifa will urge his new group of U-17 players to make home advantage count when they play Ethiopia today at St. Mary’s Stadium Kitende in the first leg of the first round of the age group’s Women World Cup qualifiers.

This is Khalifa’s second campaign as U-17 coach with an U-20 campaign that was ruthlessly brought to a halt by Ghana last month in between.
The last U-17 WWC campaign in 2020 had Uganda beat Ethiopia 5-1 on aggregate in the preliminary stages, Tanzania 6-2 in the first round. 
Uganda were due to face off with Cameroon for a place in the finals in India when Covid-19 struck with lockdowns. The question is whether Khalifa can do it again.

Catherine Nagadya, who will be tasked to score the goals in this campaign having played as a versatile midfielder in the last one, Hadijah Nandago - who has had a complete turnaround from U-17 squad member to U-20 goal getter - plus captain Shakira Nyinagahirwa are the leading surviving members from 2020 although Phiona Nabulime and Kamiyati Naigaga were close to Khalifa’s set up in the last two years.
“It is always important for us to start at home so we can get the fans, now that they are back, behind the team,” Khalifa said.
“I am sure these girls can score goals. It is just about how quickly we settle into the game and how fast we move the ball,” Khalifa added.

Who does it better?

Uganda know what to expect from Ethiopia. The sides play almost a similar brand of football - expansive and possession based but the Ethiopians add a bit of physicality to it.
In fact the three aforementioned Ugandan players were on the receiving end of Ethiopia’s never-say-die approach to the game during the U-20 Cecafa Women Championships at Fufa Technical Centre - Njeru where the latter overturned a 2-0 halftime deficit to win 2-3 and take the trophy.

Khalifa and those players, will therefore need to show they learnt their lessons.
Both countries, will however, have many new faces as they vie to play South Africa - who earned a walkover against the suspended (by Fifa for government interference) Kenya - in the next round.

But the bigger rebuilding job must have fallen to Ethiopia, who actually missed that year’s U-17 Cecafa after Uganda ousted them from the World Cup campaign - a thing that showed uncharacteristic disbelief in their structures at the time.
Today, however, presents a perfect opportunity for them to show their growth while for Uganda, it is a test of how deep the bedrock of talent is in the country.
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