Uganda’s Crested Cranes will face a tough task when they take on Algeria for the return leg of their TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers on Tuesday, September 26th, at 9pm EAT.
The Cranes lost the first leg 2-1 at home, and will need to overturn the deficit if they want to advance to the next round.
Crested Cranes coach Ayub Kiyingi is confident that his team can do it, despite the odds being stacked against them.
“We have prepared for today’s game and we have nothing we are looking for apart from winning the game with some good margin,” Kiyingi said.
“The girls are geared for the game. I have seen how our opponents play, since they are slow, we are going to capitalize on that to win.”
” My players are motivated and we have rectified the mistakes we made in the first leg. We are aiming to win the match with more than two goals.”
One of Uganda’s biggest problems in the first leg was their inability to take their chances.
They also struggled defensively, and made a number of midfield errors. Kiyingi says that they have worked on addressing these issues in training.
“We have handled every department and we are ready to go,” Kiyingi said.
“We have also cautioned our strikers to put more pressure on the Algeria backline. Picking a result away from home is not easy but we are going to fight hard to achieve this.”
“In the first leg, we gave our opponents a lot of respect but we hope that will not happen in the return leg. We are going to work extremely hard.”
The winner on aggregate between Uganda and Algeria will face either Burundi or Ethiopia in the final qualification phase.
What the Captain said
Crested Cranes captain Hasifa Nassuna is confident that her team can overturn the first leg deficit and advance to the next round.
“Everyone is ready and our coaches have helped us to rectify the mistakes we made in the first leg,” Nassuna said.
“If we correct them, I know we can win the game. The girls’ motivation is high since they want to make their country proud and raise the Ugandan flag high.”
Crested Cranes have a chance to return to the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations finals for the second time in a row. Last year in Morocco, they returned to the finals after 22 years of waiting.
Uganda will rely on forwards Fauzia Najjemba and Fazila Ikwaput for inspiration. Najjemba scored the Cranes’ only goal in the first leg, while Ikwaput is one of the most experienced players in the squad.
The Crested Cranes are underdogs for the return leg, but they have shown in the past that they are capable of upsetting the odds.
They will need to be at their best if they want to advance to the next round of the TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Courtesy Photos