Uganda coach Paul Put admitted his side paid a heavy price for showing Tunisia too much respect, but insisted the Cranes can still react positively in their next AFCON 2025 appearance.
His team fell 3–1 in Rabat after an early onslaught from the Carthage Eagles left them chasing the game from the start.
Put felt Uganda were far too passive for long spells, especially in the duels and second balls that are vital at this level. He regretted that his players only truly imposed themselves for “about 25 minutes”, spending the rest of the match on the back foot against a Tunisian side that punished every lapse in concentration.
“We showed them too much respect, we know they are good at set pieces. This is a bad start. I think we were not aggressive enough. If you play AFCON, you need to win the duels. We only had about 25 minutes of the game but the rest, we were on the backfoot which is not enough for a competition like the Africa Cup of Nations,” he said.
“We know what we have to do in our next game. We will be playing under pressure. A draw will not be enough. You now need to win your next game to be in a position to finish second or third. We will analyse the game and identify what we did wrong and what can be done better. I do believe that we can bounce back.”
