The fact that Uganda Cranes will not be going to Cameroon for next year’s AFCON seems to have sunk in, and now the team wants to put that right by trying to qualify for its first-ever World Cup.
Rwanda is currently standing in Crane’s way as both sides have to face off in a two-legged tie with one slated for tomorrow in Kigali.
Cranes 25-man squad is already in Kigali and has today morning held a light training.
Just two games into his second stint as Cranes Head Coach in the ongoing qualifiers, Milutin Micho Sredojevic has been widely criticized for being defensive and negative in tactics.
As it stands, Uganda and Kenya are levels on two points, Rwanda has one point while Mali leads Group E with four points.
Matooke Republic has reached out to some of Uganda’s best coaches for an expert say about Micho’s tactics and the team’s qualification chances.
Former Cranes and KCCA FC coach Mike Mutebi says Uganda openly has a chance to qualify as Micho has assembled a talented team that can easily be shaped to win games.
Coach Mujib Kasule’s comments about the team’s chances to qualify are not different from those of Mutebi as he said; “I think everyone still has a chance to qualify. We will know more after Sunday because the next two games will determine the qualification.”
Sam Ssimbwa, the former URA coach believes that unless a miracle happens, Uganda has no chances of qualifying for the world’s most prestigious football tournament. He explained that the team is in the rebuilding process hence it’s unrealistic for anyone to think they can qualify.
“We can’t qualify but when I say it,fans might think I am against the federation. No team has ever qualified for such a tournament while in the rebuilding process,” Ssimbwa said.
He however noted that the team will ably compete with Mali and Kenya for who tops Group E.
On Micho’s tactics, Simbwa said it’s too early for anyone to start criticizing Micho as he’s with a young squad.
“We all know most of the senior players like Denis Onyango, Farouk Miya, and Hassan Wasswa among others are not on the team. He (Micho) needs time to rebuild,” he said.
As for Mujib, he has confidence in the ‘Serbian Wolf’ overturning the slow start.
“Micho is doing his best to get results from a team that is so deprived of quality,” said Mujib.
Mutebi decided to take us for a short lecture on how coaches are open to criticism but in the end, they are the ones to make the final decisions which you can either consider as bad or good.
“Micho has a job to do and he’s exactly determined to do that. For the nature of his job, he can’t avoid criticism. Those criticizing him should know that he’s the final man when it comes to decision-making,” said Mutebi.
Even if Uganda gets through the group stage, they’ll still have a double-legged tie against one of the other group winners to determine the five African sides that will go to Qatar.