Uganda miss out on U20 Women’s World Cup after Ghana draw

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Uganda U20 women’s football national team, the Queen Cranes, missed out on qualification for the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup after a 1-1 draw against Ghana U20 women’s national team.

The result saw Ghana advance with a 3-2 aggregate score after winning the first leg 2-1 in Accra last week.

Uganda came into Saturday's match needing a victory without conceding after securing an important away goal in Ghana. Backed by a passionate home crowd, the hosts started brightly and took the lead in the seventh minute through Sylvia Kabene.

Her deflected strike sent fans into celebration and levelled the aggregate score at 2-2, giving Uganda hope of reaching a historic first FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Queen Cranes celebrate Sylvia Kabene's opener against Ghana. (Courtesy Photo)

“We started the game strongly and believed we could qualify. Scoring early gave us confidence and motivation to continue fighting for the country,” Kabene said.

Uganda continued to fight in the second half and gained further hope in the 69th minute when Ghana defender Margaret Agyapong was sent off for stamping on Peace Muduwa’s leg.

However, Ghana found the decisive response in the 78th minute through captain Linda Owusu, whose well-taken free kick silenced the home crowd and restored the visitors’ aggregate advantage.

With Ghana reduced to 10 players, the Queen Cranes pushed forward in search of the winning goal, but the visitors defended with discipline to hold onto the draw and qualify for the World Cup for the eighth consecutive time.

“We pushed until the final minutes because we believed qualification was possible. The fans supported us throughout, and we thank Ugandans for standing with the team,” Kabene added.

“It is painful because we were very close, but I am proud of the effort and teamwork we showed,” Kabene said.

Had Uganda qualified, the Queen Cranes would have become only the second Ugandan football team to reach a FIFA World Cup after the country’s historic Uganda U-17 men’s national team qualification.

Last year, Uganda U-17 Men’s National Team made history by qualifying for the FIFA U-17 World Cup for the first time and reaching the Round of 16.

Head coach Sheryl Ulanda Botes will now shift attention to the Uganda U-17 Women’s National Team, which will face regional rivals Kenya U-17 Women’s National Team later this month.

The Teen Cranes advanced after defeating Zimbabwe 6-1 on aggregate, while Kenya eliminated Namibia 7-1 overall.

Meanwhile, the Uganda women’s national football team, the Crested Cranes, will face the Zambia women’s national football team in the qualifiers for the Olympic Women’s Football Tournament to be held in Los Angeles in 2028.

The two-legged tie will be played between October 5 and 13, 2026, with Uganda hosting the first leg before travelling to Zambia for the return match.