KAMPALA – Algeria hammered Uganda 3-0 at a tightly packed Nelson Mandela National Stadium in Kampala on Monday evening, making a commanding start to their TotalEnergies CAF African Nations Championship (CHAN) PAMOJA 2024 campaign.
Goals from Ayoub Ghezala, Abderrahmane Meziane and Soufiane Bayazid sealed the win for the North African giants, who once again displayed their tournament pedigree with an organised, composed and tactically efficient performance that left the Cranes chasing shadows.
The result marks Algeria’s third consecutive win over Uganda at CHAN, extending their unbeaten group stage record in the competition to seven matches. ,
It is déjà vu for Uganda, who have previously failed to appear in CHAN knockouts. Despite, being encouraged by the home crowd, the Cranes were unable to find early rhythm.
Algeria, in contrast, settled into their passing game, and broke the deadlock in the 36th minute.
A well-delivered corner from Meziane found Ayoub Ghezala at the near post, and the midfielder’s glancing header beat goalkeeper Joel Mutakubwa at his near post to put Algeria ahead.
It was a deserved lead for the Desert Foxes, who had begun to dominate territory and possession.
Uganda will hope to bounce back in their second Group C match against South Africa, while Algeria face Niger next and could seal early qualification with another victory.
