The greatest football showpiece on the African continent, the Africa Cup of Nations is around the corner and teams are gearing up.
The Uganda cranes failed to make qualify for the finals in Cameroon but head coach Milutin Sredojevic “Micho” confirmed that Gabon and Mauritania will play his side in buildup games.
Two of the participants, Gabon and Mauritania, in their bid to thorough their preparations, will play against the Cranes of Uganda but head coach Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic has stressed that the local players will play the focal role in the two matches.
“Let us have it in mind that it’s the majority of the locally-based players that are going to be involved in these games,” Sredojevic told the press.
Micho also highlighted the importance of the games, noting that they are meant to help maintain a high level of competitiveness amongst his players.
He returned to the cranes’ team as head coach for his second spell last year having been appointed the national team tactician.
Since his comeback, the Serbian has majorly concentrated on building a new strong side consistent with locally-based young players.
It should be remembered that Micho guided the Cranes to their first AFCON finals in 2017 after nearly 40 years before leaving the team pending unpaid areas that same year.
Uganda Cranes head coach, Micho photo credit pmldaily.com
What this means for the cranes- Micho
The target is to keep the competitiveness amongst the team ahead of the 2022 CHAN Algeria qualifiers and also the 2023 AFCON Ivory Coast qualifiers.
But, as we have all seen recently, it is these locally-based players that have dominated the National team. Micho remains optimistic he can keep preparing them for the future.
Both games are set to happen in the United Arab Emirates city of Abu Dhabi. Gabon against Uganda will be played on December 30 whilst Mauritania versus Uganda is on New Year’s Day.
CHAN Tournament
The 2020 Africa Nations Championship was the fifth consecutive appearance for Uganda Cranes.
The tournament unlike the AFCON does not include expatriate players but only locally based footballers are eligible to represent their countries.
Together with the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe, the Cranes have participated five times.
Past Cranes CHAN appearance and performance
The Cranes first took part in Africa’s second prestigious tournament in 2011 when Sudan hosted the event.
Then Uganda was pooled in Group A with hosts Sudan, Gabon, and Algeria who were all debutants in the tournament.
Under British-born coach Robert Williamson, the cranes lost all three games against Algeria (2-0), Sudan (1-0), and Gabon (2-1).
The inaugural tournament was held in Ivory Coast in 2009 and was won by the Democratic Republic of Congo who defeated Ghana 2-0.
AFCON Tournament
For starters, Uganda failed to qualify for their third AFCON tourney when they lost 1-0 to Malawi in the final Group B game in March 2021.
On the other hand, Gabon and Mauritania finished second in Group D and E respectively thus making it to Cameroon.
At the January competition, Gabon is pooled in Group C alongside giants Morocco and Ghana while there is also Comoros who are having their first appearance.
Gabon will start its campaign against Comoros on January 10.
Meanwhile, Mauritania who will be making their second consecutive appearance, also the second in their history having debuted in Egypt in 2019, are in Group F.
In Group F, they are paired with African powerhouse Tunisia, Mali, and the Gambia will start with the latter on January 12.
The official kick-off of the AFCON tournament is on January 9 when hosts Cameroon tussle it out with Burkina Faso.
What the friendlies mean for Gabon and Mauritius
The two sides will use the friendly games against Uganda to test their respective shapes ahead of Africa’s most prestigious sporting event.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login