Uganda Women’s football team, the Crested Cranes qualified for the semifinals of the 2018 Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) tournament after defeating Zimbabwe 2-1 in the last group stage match.
Second half goals from substitute Juliet Nalukenge and captain Tracy Jones Akiror were enough for the Crested Cranes to book a semifinal place. Rutendo Makore pulled one backed for the Zimbabweans in the 90th minute.
Faridah Bulega’s side topped Group C with seven points. They defeated Swaziland 4-3 in the first game before they were held 0-0 by Namibia on Saturday.
The group stage composed of three groups of four teams each. The three group winners and the best runner-up amongst all groups advanced to the semi-finals.
Uganda will face hosts South Africa in Thursday’s first semifinal game. South Africa thumped Malawi 6-0 in their final group game fixture to set up a match with the Crested Cranes.
The other semifinal match is to be decided today after the two matches. Zambia will take on Mozambique while Cameroon entertains Lesotho.
Uganda is the third East African country to feature in the COSAFA Women’s Championship after Tanzania in 2011 and Kenya in 2017.
The final will be played on Saturday 22nd September at Wolfson Stadium, Port Elizabeth in South Africa.