Uganda U20 coach Laryea Kingston admitted Burundi surprised him with their performance as the Hippos recovered from their semi-final disappointment to secure bronze at the 2026 CECAFA U20 Championship in Dar es Salaam.Download our Mozzart Sport app for more newsUganda defeated Burundi 2-0 at Uhuru Stadium on Thursday to finish third in the regional tournament. The result came two days after Kingston’s side surrendered an early lead to lose 3-2 to Sudan in the semi-final, a defeat that sent Sudan through to the 2027 U20 Africa Cup of Nations.Sudan edge hosts Tanzania on penalties to clinch maiden CECAFA U20 titleKingston, however, felt his side had to work for the result against a Burundi team that had impressed throughout the tournament.“Burundi played very well. They shocked me,” Kingston said after the match.##NAJAVA_MECA_9980517##“We started the game well. In the first half, they had all the ball. We had to manage the game in the final minutes of the game.”Uganda had made a strong start to the competition, beating Djibouti 4-1 before edging Sudan 1-0 to finish top of Group B. Their semi-final defeat to Sudan was their only loss of the campaign.Uganda humble Burundi to clinch CECAFA U20 AFCON qualifiers bronzeKingston revealed that Uganda altered their tactical shape during the bronze-medal match, moving from their usual 4-3-3 to a 3-4-3 formation.“We changed formation, which the boys aren't used to, but they had to adjust and adapt. We changed from 4-3-3 to 3-4-3 to give us more stability at the back,” he said.##NAJAVA_MECA_9980514##For Kingston, the bronze medal offered tangible reward for a short preparation period and a campaign in which Uganda travelled without several key players.“I am very impressed. We had three weeks of preparation. We also had important players not coming with us,” he said.Selebwa provides remedy after Rising Stars suffer shameful U20 AFCON qualifiers exitSome of those players, he explained, had signed for European clubs but were unavailable because their releases did not fall within the FIFA international window.Despite the disappointment of missing the final, Kingston remained satisfied with the group that made the trip to Tanzania.##NAJAVA_MECA_9981531##“No coach is invincible, but the team that we lose to has to work for it, and I believe the Sudanese worked for their win against us in the semifinal,” he said.The coach now wants the experience to feed into Uganda’s wider youth development programme.Tanzania's 'Casemiro' hungry for more despite U20 AFCON qualification“We have a specific way of playing, our identity, and we have to improve it,” Kingston said. “Spend time with the U15 and U17s to improve the players individually.”Uganda’s campaign ultimately ended with three wins and one defeat, while Sudan and hosts Tanzania claimed the two CECAFA qualification places for the 2027 U20 AFCON in Ghana.