Cameroon and Uganda will face off in an international friendly at the Marrakech Stadium on Friday evening as part of their preparation for the return of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in September.
Both teams have been in good shape leading up to this fixture, and matches between these sides have been tightly contested, with all three previous encounters ending level.
Match preview
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Cameroon are set to reassemble for the first time in just over two months, when they took four points from their two CAF World Cup qualifiers against Eswatini (0-0) on March 25 and Libya (3-1) a week later.
Vincent Aboubakar bagged a brace in the victory over the Mediterranean Knights either side of a Bryan Mbeumo strike, which earned the team their third win in their WCQ campaign after six games.
With those results, the Indomitable Lions have now won seven, drawn four and lost only one of their last 12 matches across all competitions, dating back to their exit at the Africa Cup of Nations at the start of last year.
However, Marc Brys's side's preparation for this match has not gone as smoothly as he would have hoped, as reports on Tuesday revealed that only 17 players had attended their first training session in Marrakech, with the likes of Patrick Soko, Ignatius Ganago and Boris Enow being among those who were absent.
The last time these sides met was back in January 2023 in an international friendly that ended 1-1 at that final whistle, with Kemajou Dibami and Moses Ndhondhi getting on the scoresheet for their sides.
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Meanwhile, Uganda had mixed results during their World Cup qualifiers in March, losing their first match on the road to Mozambique 3-1, before securing a 1-0 victory over Guinea in Kampala.
The Cranes have now won seven of their last 10 games across all competitions (D1 L2), a period during which they secured qualification to the AFCON later this year, finishing second in their group, just one point behind South Africa.
Uganda are also still in the running to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, but may have to settle for the spot in the second round of qualifying, given that they trail group leaders Algeria by six points with four games to play, but are only three points off second-placed Mozambique.
Notably, the Cranes will have to make do without head coach Paul Put for this match due to illness, with assistant coach Sam Ssimbwa set to lead the team in the Belgian tactician's absence.
Team News
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Brys has opted to use this month's friendlies as an opportunity to identify emerging talents by omitting several of the team's star players, including the likes of Andre Onana, Bryan Mbeumo, Carlos Baleba and Frank Anguissa.
Serge Daura, Florent Batoum, and Boris Mfoumou are the locally based players who have received call-ups, while Hatayspor forward Vincent Aboubakar will captain the Indomitable Lions this week.
Uganda were dealt a fairly significant blow in the lead-up to this match, with striker Steven Mukwala forced to withdraw from the squad after sustaining an injury while featuring for Tanzanian outfit Simba SC.
The Cranes squad features four players from the Uganda Premier League and Uganda Cup champions Viper SC, including defender Nico Wadada, who has earned a first national team call-up since 2021.
Cameroon possible starting lineup:
Epassy; Dibango, Ndjeungoue, Nagida, Castelletto; Atemengue, Namaso, Younoussa; Soko, Aboubakar, Ganago
Uganda possible starting lineup:
Watenga; Wadada, Bwomono, Sibbick, Capradossi; Byaruhanga, Semakula, Oyirwoth, Mutyaba, Okello; Shaban
We say: Cameroon 1-1 Uganda
While Cameroon are considered favourites ahead of this contest, they have opted to leave out the majority of their international players, which could level the playing field significantly. Uganda have been in very good form over the last year, and we feel there will be nothing to split these two at the final whistle.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
