MATCH FACTS: Uganda and Gambia meet for a place at the FIFA Under-17 World Cup 2025

Uganda and Gambia will clash for a place at the FIFA Under-17 World Cup 2025 in Qatar later this year when they meet in a play-off encounter at the Ben M'Hamed El Abdi Stadium in El Jadida on Saturday (kick-off 16:00 local time / 15:00 GMT).

Uganda finished third in Group A in the pool phase at the TotalEnergies CAF Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), Morocco 2025, while Gambia were the third-placed side in Group C.

This is the first meeting between Uganda and Gambia at the TotalEnergies CAF U17 AFCON.

Uganda will face a West African opponent for only the second time. Their other meeting was a group stage clash against Nigeria in their final group game in 2019. The game ended 1-1.

Gambia’s two games against teams from East Africa are their opening game against Ethiopia in 2003, a match they won 1-0, and the 5-1 win over Somalia at the current finals. 

UGANDA FACTS
·      Uganda ended third in Group A behind hosts Morocco and Zambia. They lost their first game to Morocco and then won against Tanzania before a 2-1 loss against Zambia in their final pool fixture.

·      A win for Uganda will see them qualify for the FIFA U17 World Cup for the first time. It will be the first time any Ugandan national team has qualified for a major FIFA tournament.

·      Should Uganda claim victory they will have won two games at the finals for the first time.

·      Uganda have scored four goals at the current finals. They also scored four in 2019 when they were eliminated in the group stages.

·      In 2019, all four of Uganda’s goals were scored by different players, with a repeat at the current finals. Across two editions of the finals, Uganda are yet to have a player score more than one goal for them.

·      Both of Uganda’s wins at the finals, in 2019 and at the current tournament, have been against Tanzania. The only other time they managed to avoid defeat was in their 1-1 draw against Nigeria in the 2019 group stages.

GAMBIA FACTS
·      Gambia will be looking for victory to take them to their third FIFA U17 World Cup along with past participations in 2005 and 2009.

·      Gambia were eliminated at the group stages at the current tournament for the third time, along with 2003 and 2011.

·      Gambia are two-time former champions, winning in 2005 and 2009.

·      At the current finals, Gambia began with a 1-0 loss to Senegal and after a 5-1 win over Somalia in their second game, they lost their last group fixture to Senegal (2-1).

·      Bisenty Mendy has scored in Gambia’s last two games. The last Gambian player to score in three successive games at the finals was Ebrima Bojang, who netted in their final group game, the semi-final and final in 2009. Bojang also scored in their opening group fixture in 2009.

·      Bojang’s five goals at the 2009 tournament is the most scored at a single finals by a Gambian player. At the present tournament, Mendy and Alieu Drammeh have three goals each.

·      Gambia have played four knockout games at past tournaments, winning all four in open play. These were the semi-final and final games in 2007 and 2009. They are yet to be involved in a penalty shoot-out.

·      Gambia in knockout games in past tournaments defeated South Africa 2-1 in the semi-finals in 2005 and won 1-0 against Ghana in the final. In 2009 they defeated Malawi 4-0 in the semi-finals and Algeria 3-1 in the final.