Uganda ends 39-year AFCON wait •Qualifies for Gabon

Uganda qualified for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals after beating Comoros 1-0 at the Mandela National Stadium in Kampala on Sunday afternoon.

The Cranes of Uganda went into the final Group D encounter knowing that only a victory would send them to the 2017 Afcon finals for the first time since 1978.

Uganda made their intentions clear in the opening stages of the Group D encounter as they pressed Comoros for an early goal.

However, Comoros goalkeeper Ali Ahamada made brilliant saves to deny Farouk Miya and Geoffrey Massa in the first 15 minutes of the game.

At the other end, Uganda goalkeeper Denis Onyango pulled off a decent save from a tame Comoros free-kick in the 24th minute.

The deadlock was finally broken in the 38th minute when Miya pounced from close range and he made it 1-0 to Uganda, much to the delight of the home crowd.

The Cranes were leading 1-0 at halftime after containing Comoros in the dying minutes of the first half.

Four minutes after the restart, Comoros’ Bachirou Fouad attempted a long range effort, but his attempt flew over the crossbar.

Comoros made a change in the 62nd minute, introducing Ali Mmandi for Kombo Ahamadi as they looked to grab an equaliser.

However, Uganda did most of the attacking in the late stages of the game and, ultimately, they recorded a historic 1-0 win on the day.