AFCON 2027 Qualifiers: Cranes eye historic win against Libya at Hoima
David GOMBE
Uganda Cranes will lock horns with Libya in their second match of the Pamoja 2027 TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers and the first ever national team match to be hosted under the lights of Hoima City Stadium on Tuesday.
The Cranes will be seeking maximum points in the maiden national team match at the venue. Uganda played out a 1-1 stalemate with 2004 African Champions Tunisia in the first match of the campaign in Tunis last Thursday.
Libya on the other hand came from 2-0 down to force a 2-2 draw against Botswana.
What the coaches say,
Uganda Cranes coach Paul Put is targeting three points against Libya.
“We had a long travel to go to Tunisia, play in Tunisia in only two days preparation, then came back. We delayed, so the players were very tired yesterday. Today we are going to see on training how the reaction is, and then we have to be ready for the game tomorrow.
We have to be honest. We played AFCON. I think before AFCON, we did it very well, the team. We did good results in the World Cup, also for our qualification. But in AFCON, we had to be realistic. And if we played the big teams, we had it difficult.”“We have been trying to reinforce the team. And now it’s also on them to prove that they really can reinforce the team.”said the Belgian.
His counterpart Youssou Dabo is optimistic that his men can build on their second-half performance against Botswana to overcome the Cranes.
“We are thankful for the warm reception so far received,” started Dabo. “We are here to play and win but we know it will be a tough game against a very good side that has been together for some time now,” he added.
“In the first game, our spirit in the second half is what I want us to carry here. Playing in the new stadium, we want to make history by winning the first game at Hoima.”
On Sunday, FUFA confirmed that they had identified nine new players who are with the team for the crucial AFCON 2027 qualifier against Libya, and the upcoming international friendlies against DR Congo during this FIFA window.
During Uganda’s 1-1 stalemate against Tunisia last week, Nathan Asiimwe and Noble Okello were the two new faces that featured in the game played in Tunis on Thursday and it remains to be seen whether some new faces will make their debuts.
The other seven new players are Abdoulaye Sissako, Akpan David Udoh, Dieudonne Gaucho Debohi, Souleyman Diaby, Vula Arnold, Kelvin Owusu Boateng and Kingdom Osayi.
