History is made with Tanzania set to face Senegal in AFCON U-17 final – CECAFA FOOTBALL

Two teams from the CECAFA Zone Ethiopia and Uganda have battled through to secure FIFA U-17 World Cup qualifier play-off slots.

The two teams battled to secure valuable points in their last group matches on Tuesday at the on-going TotalEnergies U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Rabat, Morocco.

Uganda Cubs converted a late penalty through Arafat Ibanda to secure a 2-2 draw against Group B table leaders Cote d’Ivoire and book a place in the plat-off.

Koudougnon Brebo gave Code d’Ivoire the lead after 25 minutes, but Henry Muhoozi leveled matters 15 minutes later. With 11 minutes to full time Souleymane Kone netted the second goal for the West Africans, but Uganda were lucky to get a penalty and convert it.

Although they failed to qualify for the quarter final stage of the U-17 AFCON, Uganda Cubs finished third in the group to secure the play-off place for the FIFA U-17 World Cup qualifier against the team that will finish third in Group D.

Ethiopia who were on the brink of elimination also netted late through substitute Amir Misbah. Ethiopia who finished third with 4 points behind Morocco and Egypt will now face the third placed team in Group C in the play-off for a place in the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2026.

Tanzania who play their last Group C match against Mali have already qualified for the quarter final stage of the AFCOn U-17 and the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2026.

The top two teams in each of the four groups earn direct qualification to the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2026, while the other two slots are determined via a playoffs.

A total of 10 teams will qualify to represent Africa at the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2026.