JUBA, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- Uganda defeated South Sudan 2-1 on Tuesday in a pulsating encounter to qualify for the 2025 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco.

Uganda had beaten South Sudan in the reverse fixture 1-0 on Oct. 11 in Kampala, the Ugandan capital.

South Sudan's head coach, Nicholas Dupuis, said Uganda was the better team at individual duels, adding that this was key in deciding the match.

"Today it was very difficult for us as Uganda was better than us, so I think the result is normal. Individually they were better, but we fought hard. It is not enough but we played against a good team," Dupuis said at a briefing in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.

Paul Joseph Put, the head coach of Uganda, said he is proud of how his team took the initiative from the start until the end of the match.

"I think we have seen every good team today, they took the initiative from the first moment until the end, I think South Sudan was a bit dangerous in the corner kicks because of the height of their players but we dominated the game," Put said.

He said that his team could have scored more goals due to the numerous opportunities they created in the entire 90 minutes of the match.

Uganda leads Group K, which includes South Africa, the Republic of the Congo, and South Sudan, with South Sudan struggling after losing to the rest of the group.

Dupuis said that his team's focus has now shifted to the upcoming fixture against Kenya on October 25 in the Total Energies African Nations Championship (CHAN).