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With the pressure mounting, Uganda seeks to secure a vital victory to keep their hopes alive for their first AFCON appearance since 2019.
With all intent and purpose, the Uganda Cranes must put up a show and beat Algeria if they’re to have a chance of qualifying to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast.
It’s even tougher for coach Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic whose job heavily depends on the fortunes of the team in the current qualifying campaign; the noose is slowly tightening around his neck.
With the pressure mounting, Uganda seeks to secure a vital victory to keep their hopes alive for their first AFCON appearance since 2019.
Algeria have already qualified after registering a perfect record in their first four outings but coach Djamel Belmadi’s call-ups don’t look like a team in that is about to ease off the pedal.
The 2019 AFCON winners have been dominant throughout the qualifiers, and the Uganda Cranes were the first to have a taste of their superiority at the start of the qualification campaign.
The Cranes were understandably second best as they suffered a 2-0 defeat in June 2022, and followed that defeat up with a draw to Niger then defeat to Tanzania in Egypt.
However, the Cranes showcased their character by securing a vital win over Tanzania in March, to give themselves a lifeline in the qualification campaign.
Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic’s men will have one ear in Dar-es-Salaam where Tanzania, who they are level with on points. The two East African neighbours are tied on four points after four games.
Head-to-head
The two nations have met 14 time in all competitions with both sides winning five games apiece and drawing the remaining four.
However, Uganda has not won any of the last five meetings between the two sides, and have failed to score against the Desert Foxes in each of their last three meetings.
The Cranes have collected only four wins in their last 15 games across all competitions, and have scored only 11 goals during that period.
Uganda’s build up to the game has seen them suffer a 1-0 defeat in a friendly against DR Congo, while they played out a 1-1 draw in a behind closed door friendly over the Central African Republic.
Which despite not depicting the perfect picture especially going into a crucial qualifier, head coach Micho feels provided promising signals.
“We had the biggest chance from the first half from the [Farouk Miya’s] corner kick,” Micho said after the game against DR Congo.
“We changed the approach in the second after realizing that the opponent was using the central midfielders to build and sending the fullbacks high, so,” he explains further.
“We added players who would hold the ball much better the way Basangwa did. He helped the team to initiate attacks and created an unbelievable chance which we failed to convert.”
Micho is expected to name a similar side this weekend, meaning we could see an unchanged back four of Aziz Kayondo, Halid Lwaliwa, Fred Gift and 20-year-old Kenneth Semakula.
Veteran striker Emmanuel Okwi, who is the Cranes' all-time leading scorer with 28 goals in 93 appearances, should spearhead the attack once again, alongside 25-year-old Fahad Bayo.
Belmadi has named a star-studded 26-man squad for Sunday's game and next week's friendly against Tunisia, including the likes of Islam Slimani and treble winner Riyad Mahrez.
Saïd Benrahma, who scored the opener in West Ham United's 2-1 victory over Fiorentina in the Conference League final, has also been called up, while 18-year-old Badredine Bouanani is the younger player in the Algeria camp.
Newly-signed Roma forward Houssem Aouar is in contention for his first appearance for Algeria after recently switching allegiances from the France National team.
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