Algeria Surges Past Uganda with Late Drama to Seize Control in World Cup Qualification Race

Long after the opening exchanges had ebbed into caution, long after Uganda’s early optimism began to feel like a distant memory, Mohamed El Amine Amoura delivered the kind of performance that defines a World Cup qualifying campaign. With two nerveless penalties in the final ten minutes, Algeria clawed back from the brink to defeat Uganda, 2-1, on a crisp October night—vaulting the North Africans to the summit of their qualification group, and handing Uganda a lesson in the merciless margins of the continental game.

Early in Kampala, as footfalls echoed off an electric crowd, it was Uganda who seized the script. Steven Mukwala, whose recent form had drawn the eyes of the continent, pounced in the 6th minute. Adroitly steering a low cross beyond the outstretched Algerian keeper, Mukwala sent a nation dreaming—if only briefly—of a historic scalp. Uganda, brimming with confidence after four wins in their last five, pressed high and hustled, their midfield a whirl of red shirts and quick feet.

But if the Cranes have learned anything over the last decade, it is this: Algeria, winners of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations and perennial heavyweights, rarely wilt for long. Their response was measured, bordering on patient frustration as the minutes ticked on. Amoura, Algeria’s breakout forward and now the group’s top scorer, probed at the Ugandan back line, while Riyad Mahrez orchestrated from deep, threading passes in search of a gap that simply would not appear.

Uganda’s defensive discipline rarely wavered, marshaled by Elio Capradossi, who cut out cross after cross. As the first half turned to the second, Algeria’s urgency mounted. Yet it was not until the 81st minute—when a jinking run into the box left an Algerian attacker sprawling and the referee pointing to the spot—that the dam finally broke. Amoura, unflappable, dispatched the penalty into the bottom corner. Parity restored, tension rising.

For Uganda, a draw might have sufficed—a continuation of their impressive qualifying run, which included a hard-fought 1-0 away win at Botswana just days prior, and clean sheets strung together against Somalia and Mozambique. For Algeria, though, only victory would do. And when the relentless Amoura was felled again in stoppage time under the weight of Ugandan desperation, the referee’s whistle sounded like a clarion call of destiny.

From twelve yards, Amoura was once more immaculate, sending the keeper the wrong way and Algeria’s traveling contingent into rapture. A second penalty, a second goal, and the points belonged to the Desert Foxes.

The final whistle left Uganda’s players strewn across the pitch in disbelief. For so much of the evening, they had matched Algeria stride for stride, perhaps even outworking them. But experience told in the closing stages. The North Africans, unbeaten in qualifying save for a single draw against Guinea, had once again turned late pressure into decisive goals.

The result sends Algeria clear at the top of their group, reinforcing a position of strength established by recent victories: an emphatic 3-0 dismantling of Somalia, a 3-1 triumph over Botswana, and now this vital away win. For Amoura, whose scoring heroics have become central to Algeria’s new era, tonight’s brace marks his seventh goal in five qualifiers—a tally that leaves little doubt as to his ascendancy among Africa’s most feared finishers.

For Uganda, the defeat is a cruel punctuation to an otherwise resurgent spell. Their recent form—four wins in five, including a comprehensive 4-0 thrashing of Mozambique and statement victories in friendlies—had revived hopes of a return to the global stage. Mukwala’s early goal, a product of the very attacking verve that has rekindled national belief, will be little consolation as they slip down the table, now forced to chase the favorites through the campaign’s second half.

It is the latest twist in a fixture that has grown in intensity through recent cycles. Algeria and Uganda’s last meetings have almost always carried weight; tonight’s contest added another chapter, drenched in late drama and set-piece nerve.

As the qualification race barrels toward its conclusion, Algeria holds the advantage—points, momentum, and a striker in irrepressible form. For Uganda, the task is now clear: regroup, rediscover their defensive resilience, and find a way to convert bright starts into lasting rewards. Today, the vital lesson was this: in the unrelenting theater of World Cup qualification, it is rarely enough to start well. The teams who finish best are the ones who write history.