Screenshot
Following their round-of-16 exit at the last appearance six years ago in Egypt, Uganda Cranes target a quarterfinal berth at this year’s Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals in Morocco.
The Cranes kick off the tournament with a tough group fixture against former champions Tunisia on Tuesday, December 23 at the Stade Prince Moulay Abdallah in Rabat. And to keep the quarterfinal dream alive, The Cranes must avoid defeat to Tunisia.
Victory in their first game could provide the moment and courage for The Uganda Cranes in Group C that includes East African neighbour Tanzania and Nigeria, another tournament giant and former champion.
After two weeks of intensive preparations in Morocco, The Cranes look set for the task at hand. Coach Paul Put’s side, a blend of youthful stars (who lit up Uganda Cranes’ performance at the recent Chan tournament in Kampala) and some experienced players such as skipper Khalid Aucho, is oozing with confidence.
“The boys are in high spirits and understand the importance of winning the first game so they are really focused on the job,” Ahmed Hussein, a former broadcast journalist and now Fufa spokesman, who has been with The Cranes in a special training camp since December 7, observed.
Despite a lot of attention being drawn to the game against Nigeria, Put’s game plan is to win the first two games (against Tunisia on December 23 and Tanzania on December 27) for The Cranes to play the final group game with less pressure.
Back in 2019, The Cranes had impressive run in the Afcon tournament finals in Egypt after winning their opening games against DR Congo and Zimbabwe under French coach Sebastien Desabre.
Predictably, Put will employ the game plan to try and push The Cranes through the group stage and beyond the round-of-16 in Morocco. So far, Put’s Cranes side has showed promising signs in the recent trial matches with good displays, fighting spirit and scoring goals freely.
For instance, all the aforesaid ingredients were on display in the team’s 2-2 draw with Moroccan topflight club AS FAR Rabat last weekend.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
In the last competitive meetings, Tunisia commands a 5-0 head-to-head record over The Uganda Cranes. Four of Tunisia’s wins (which include the 6-0 thrashing of The Cranes in April 1999) came during the two teams’ games during the previous Afcon engagements.
The other Afcon games ended 3-0 in 1962; 3-1 in 1978 and 2-0 in February 1999, all in favour of Tunisia. And in 2017, the Tunisians beat The Cranes 2-0 in an international friendly match.
Fixtures
Tue, Dec 23@11pm: Uganda Cranes v Tunisia
Sat, Dec 27@8:30pm: Uganda Cranes v Tanzania
Wed, December 30@7pm: Uganda Cranes v Nigeria
About the Author
