AFCON 203Q: Where it all went wrong for Uganda Cranes

The Uganda Cranes will once again watch the Africa Cup of Nations on television following their failure to qualify from the qualifiers that concluded with a 2-0 win over Niger in Marrakech, Morocco, Thursday evening.

Aziz Kayodo and Joseph Ochaya scored for the Cranes in Marrakech, but Uganda’s victory was rendered insufficient the moment the moment Tanzania held their nerves to come away with a goalless draw against Algeria in Algiers.

Uganda paid the price for a sluggish start to the qualifiers and the lack of threat in front of goal, among other factors.

No home advantage

Throughout the qualifiers, Uganda played one match in front of its home fans, the 1-1 draw with Niger at St. Mary’s Kitende to open the campaign.

The other two home matches were then hosted in Egypt (vs. Tanzania) and Cameroon (vs. Algeria) due to a lack of infrastructure that meets the minimum required standards to host matches of that magnitude.

Both games hosted away from home resulted in defeats for the Cranes, 1-0 loss to Tanzania and 2-1 to Algeria.

The two wins for Uganda came in away fixtures to Tanzania in Dar es Salam and Niger, who hosted their home match in Morocco.

Whereas two defeats to Algeria did not come as surprises, the 1-0 loss to Tanzania pretty much left the Cranes’ chances of qualification hanging in the balance. It was through that doubleheader that Uganda was expected to take a stride closer to qualification.

But the two East African neighbours split the points to leave Milutin Sredojevic’s charges with two must-win matches to conclude the campaign. The 2-1 loss to Algeria then meant that Uganda needed more than just winning their last match against Niger.

And while they did well with matters they could control, Tanzania picked a valuable point in Algiers to shut the door and deservedly return to AFCON for the first time since 2019 and their third appearance in history.

Blunt forward line

Against Niger, Uganda Cranes scored twice for the first time in the qualifiers. The Cranes continue to struggle for a reliable source of goals and only had one goal from Fahad Bayo, who seems to be Micho’s first choice up front.

In total, the Cranes managed five goals in six matches, and these were not enough to get enough points to send the team back to AFCON for the first time since 2019.

Milton Karisa, Rogers Mato, Kayondo and Ochaya are the other players who found the back of the net in the campaign.

Until the question of Uganda’s exploits in the final third is answered, winning matches and qualifying for big tournaments will likely remain a fantasy.

The Cranes ended the campaign in third place, with seven points, one behind Tanzania. Algeria topped Group F with 16 points, while bottom side Niger only managed two points.