Cecafa Cup: Kenya land Burundi, Tanzania edge Uganda to book South Sudan in semis

Kenya have been drawn to face Burundi in the Cecafa U23 Championship semi-final, while Tanzania will entertain South Sudan in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.

Stanley Okumbi's Emerging Stars finished top of Group C with six points ahead of Djibouti and South Sudan, and will face Group B winners Burundi, who finished ahead of Ethiopia and Eritrea in their pool.

"It was a very tough game and Ethiopia kept us under a lot of pressure. But I am glad we managed to get the draw and progress to the semi-final, " Jimmy Ndayizeye, Burundi's coach, said after sealing the knockout slot.

South Sudan vs Tanzania meeting

Meanwhile, South Sudan progressed to the semis after a 2-0 win against Djibouti on Saturday. 

They scored two second-half goals through Mabior Akeck Aluk and a penalty converted by Dominic Angelo Kornelio. South Sudan finished as the second-best team in Group B and qualified for semis as the best runners-up among all three pools. 

Finally, Tanzania booked their semi-final place as the best country in Group A with four points despite drawing 1-1 against Uganda in the final group game.

Ethiopia, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Eritrea will play classification matches as Djibouti heads home.

"I am delighted that we are through to the semi-final after a very tough game against Uganda," said Tanzania’s head coach Kim Poulsen.

The first semi-final game pitting Tanzania against South Sudan will be played on Tuesday morning before Kenya and Burundi meet later in the day.

The semis are an opportunity for Kenya's Reagan Otieno to continue fighting for the Golden Boot since he is at the top of the scorer's chart with three goals.

Ali Ibrahim of Eritrea - with three goals too - also still has a chance to win the award as he will take part in the classification matches.

Abubeker Nasir Ahmed of Ethiopia and Kenya's Benson Omalla have scored two goals each. William Solomon Tesfaye of Ethiopia, Burundi's Ismael Nsihimirimana, Abdourahmani Rukundo, and Issa Hakizimana, as well as Tanzania's Reliant Lusajo, have each scored a goal.

The conclusion of the U23 games will pave the way for the Cecafa Kagame Club Cup tournament that will be held in Dar es Salaam in August.