BUILD-UP GAME
Tunisia vs Uganda @ Stede De Olympique El Menzah – 4.30 pm .
Broadcast live on 102.1 FUFA fm
Uganda coach Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic’s Uganda Cranes team that will take part in today’s friendly against Tunisia is expected to be severely weakened.
Cranes are now rated, improbably, as the second best team in East and Central Africa but will miss as many as five to six assured starters in the Tunisia fixture that is meant to help inform Micho’s decisions on the final 23 squad to take on the Gabon assignment as Uganda prepares for her return to Afcon after 39 years.
Nevertheless, the decision presents Micho with some shortages considering the last time Uganda Cranes and the Carthage Eagles faced off was in ended in a 6-0 drubbing during group 7 of the 2000 Africa Nations Cup qualifiers.
Fresh from a training camp in Spain, the Carthage Eagles will be eager to prove a point to the home fans and also give head coach Henryk Kasperczak a boost ahead of the 2017 Total Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon).
Micho has warned not to read too much into the game. “You have to consider what you want out of a game,” he said. “We are in the middle of our training camp, the championship is just about to start and we have ten days to prepare, so you are not going to get a perfect performance. Also I am not quite sure the established players will need to take part in this game because we have 26 players but only 17 can take part in the game per FIFA rules.”
“It will be the first touch of competitive situation and decision on two field players and one goalkeeper that will be out while 23 go for the last polishing stage in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.”
“What we need is a good quality performance to keep the momentum going and thus the players to be used in the game are those who are in contention for some of the 23 places,” Micho revealed adding through a tweet online, “No gift and award but earn deserve. Football is not played in bush to hide but on field to be seen as 11+6 Uganda players today fight place for AFCON23.”
The Cranes will, after Tunisia, travel to Dubai where they face Slovakia on January 8 and African champions Ivory Coast three days later before the final journey to Port Gentil in Gabon.
Uganda Cranes absentees
Portugal based William Luwagga Kizito is yet to join the team in Tunisia while Denis Onyango will join the squad in Dubai on January 6 after the Caf Awards in Abuja, Nigeria on tomorrow night.
Onyango’s assistant and St George goalkeeper Robert Odongokara joined the team on Tuesday afternoon in Tunis and managed to train with the rest of the group after having been held back by a crucial game in the Ethiopian Premier League.
Established defenders Denis Iguma, Nicholas Wadada, Joseph Ochaya Murushid Juuko, Isaac Isinde and Hassan Wasswa will take part but in a lesser role while Belgium based Farouk Miya, and goal shy skipper Geoffrey Massa will not have much to prove.
