Ethiopia U-17 coach Benjamin Ziemer has praised the Uganda Cubs for their quality, organisation and football identity after his side suffered a 4-0 defeat in the CECAFA U-17 semifinals at Kigali Pelé Stadium in Rwanda on Saturday.

Ziemer admitted Uganda were ahead of Ethiopia in football development after Laryea Kingston’s side secured their third consecutive U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualification with a commanding display.

“We played against a very good opponent in a country that is five to ten years ahead of us in terms of their football project, so it’s not about luck,” Ziemer said.

“Having said that, to give up a goal 70 seconds in, that’ll change any tactics. They’re a very good team.”

The Cubs needed only two minutes to take the lead as defender Ukasha Jemba fired a powerful strike from outside the box past Ethiopian goalkeeper Biniyam Adisu Bancha.

Arnold Kayemba doubled Uganda’s lead five minutes later with his fourth goal of the tournament before Yusuf Ssenyonga struck twice to give the Cubs a 4-0 half-time advantage.

Ethiopia had a chance to pull one back in the 41st minute, but goalkeeper David Ssegirinya punched away Akrem Abduselam Jemal’s effort for a corner.

Ethiopia introduced Jonathan Addis Mezgebe, Nurhasen Wujra Negethzi and Zemichael Minyahel Niguse after the break, hoping to revive their challenge. However, Uganda remained in control and added a fifth goal to complete the rout.

Ziemer praised Uganda’s technical ability and the work behind the team’s success, pointing to their strong coaching and organised football structures.

“They’re very well coached. They’re fundamentally very strong. They can track, pass, shoot, cross cleanly,” he said.

“You can see that they have a national identity. I know they have national training centres which feed into the national team, so it’s a very organised football country with a national identity, a brand of football, which you can see is reflected in the way that their team plays.”

The Ethiopian coach also pointed to Uganda’s achievements on the international stage, including their senior team’s recent AFCON appearances.

“I believe they beat Senegal and they beat France, and they’re a country that has been, I think, their senior team in three of the last four AFCONs, so my hat is off to them,” he said.

Ziemer said he was not surprised by Uganda’s performance but maintained that Ethiopia had come to compete for qualification.

“I can’t say that I’m surprised or didn’t expect something different than the last match. Well, you can expect a match, us competing to try and qualify,” he said.

Ethiopia still have a chance

Despite the heavy defeat, Ziemer insisted that qualification, rather than winning the tournament, had always been his priority.

“I’ve never spoken about winning this thing. That’s what maybe the fans do. I’ve never spoken about winning CECAFA,” he said.

“I’ve talked about qualification. For Ethiopia at this time, even qualification is a challenge. It takes us being very sharp, it takes us scouting properly, having enough time to develop the team and the players, and then we have to come and compete.”

Ethiopia still have a chance to qualify for the 2027 CAF U-17 AFCON through the bronze-medal play-off against hosts Rwanda on October 19, the same day the final will be played.

Ziemer promised a strong response from his players in the decisive match.

“So you will see our greatest effort on behalf of our country on Monday, and you’ll see a team that’s prepared and ready to play whoever we play against,” he said.

Cubs seal third straight qualification

The victory secured Uganda one of the three automatic qualification slots reserved for the CECAFA region at the 2027 AFCON.

Kingston’s side had earlier thrashed Burundi 8-0 before drawing 1-1 with Ethiopia in their Group B matches.

The Cubs will now turn their attention to the continental tournament as they extend their run of consecutive AFCON appearances to three.

In the other semi-final, 2022 zonal champions Somalia beat hosts Rwanda 5-4 on penalties to claim the second automatic slot.

The final qualification place will go to the winner of the Ethiopia-Rwanda bronze-medal play-off, giving Ziemer’s side one last chance to reach the continental tournament.