Ahead of the afcon 2013 qualifiers final round draw this Thursday in Johannesburg, The Cranes are confident they can overcome any opponent they are pitted against.
Having last appeared at the tournament in 1978, Uganda is placed in pot B that contains the lowest ranked 15 teams remaining in the draw as ranked according to the last three editions (2008, 2010 & 2012) while pot A contains the 15 ranked teams and are Uganda’s likely opponents.
Uganda’s likely opponents (pot A):
Ghana, Cameroun, Tunisia, Algeria, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Zambia, Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Angola, Guinea, Mali, Morocco and Sudan.
Coach Bobby Williamson sounded confident ahead of the draw. ‘’I have prepared my team for any opponent since we don’t determine who we play but in football, we can beat anyone on our day’’, said the 50 year old Scot.
The same sentiments were echoed by Cyprus based forward Geoffrey Massa after the comprehensive 4-0 win over Congo Brazzaville in the last round.
‘’We are not afraid of any one in the next draw. Am sure we can beat anyone and qualify for the 2014 edition’’, Massa told Cafonline.
You can’t say they can’t as long as they are mentally and physically well prepared. After Central African Republic surprisingly eliminated record African champions Egypt in the previous round, there is no need to be afraid.
On paper, Ghana, Cameroun, Tunisia, Nigeria, Zambia, Mali, Morocco and Ivory Coast appear superior as compared to Uganda but most have faced The Cranes before and they didn’t like it.
For instance, we have a good record against reigning champions Zambia dating far back when the two teams used to meet in CECAFA senior challenge cup.
The last meeting between the two sides at Namboole in 2010 ended in a 1-1 draw in a friendly match. As for Ghana, the last meeting was in 2003 when the two sides drew 1-1 in Kumasi in Afcon qualifier.
Congolese born Asan Bajope gave the Cranes an early lead but the Black Stars equalised late on. Before, Phillip Obwiny’s strike in 2002 had condemned Ghana to a loss at Namboole.
Though both sides have changed a lot since then, it gives the side mental strength in case the two are pitted against each other.
The same applies to Nigeria, The Cranes drew 0-0 in 1993 and beat them 2-1in 2007 on their last visit to Namboole.
The last time Uganda visited The Super eagles, the hosts won dubiously with a narrow 1-0 win but it was all blamed to Senegalese referee BadaraDiatta who cancelled a legal Geoffrey Sserunkuma would be equaliser. So a trip to Lagos wouldn’t be so daunting a task.
North African Arabic countries have always been hard nuts to crack but Uganda has a good record against Algeria and recently beat Morocco 1-0 last November in the LG Cup.
The biggest threat would be Tunisia which thumped Uganda 0-6 the last time the cranes visited Tunis though the team has also changed so much.
West Africans have also been hard to beat but not Angola anymore while Sudan, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, neighbours Sudan, and Burkina Faso are beatable. Another formidable opponent is Ivory Coast but after Zambia beat them in last year’s finals, the Cranes can match them too.
Which opponent would you like Uganda to draw?
