Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic has made the bold call to select Onduparaka striker Shaban and misfiring Geoffrey Massa as part of his five-man Cranes strikeforce.
Muhammad Shaban gets the nod after crowned Fufa Male Player of the Year scoring 30 goals in all competitions of a calendar year, while Massa sneaks in without scoring in qualification or the warm-up games or even for his two South African clubs in over a year.
KCCA’s creative midfielder gem Muzamiru Mutyaba, goalkeeper Benjamin Ochan and Proline striker Edrisa Lubega are the unlucky duo who fail to make the cut today, with Ronald Mukiibi, who turns out for Östersunds FK in Sweden but has never featured for Cranes leaving the training camp through injury last week.
Micho decided to delay naming his final choices until after played in an international friendly against Tunisia on Wednesday evening ahead of CAF’s midnight deadline.
READ: Uganda beaten, dominated in Tunisia
In a competitive group that includes Ghana, Egypt and Mali, realistically Uganda stands little or no chance of progressing. The CECAFA champions should make the most of the opportunity by showcasing their talents on Africa’s biggest stage to earn lucrative deals in Europe. The Cranes should be headed back to Kampala after their final group game on 25 January against Mali.
Uganda Cranes 23-man squad (Shirt numbers)
1 – Robert Odongkara (Saint George, Ethiopia), 2 – Joseph Ochaya (KCCA), 3 – Geoffrey Kizito (Than Quang Ninh, Vietnam), 4 – Murushid Juuko (Simba, Tanzania), 5 – Isaac Isinde, 6 – Tony Mawejje (Thotur, Iceland), 7 – Sentamu Junior Yunus (Ilves, Finnland), 8 – Khalid Aucho (Baroka, South Africa), 9 – Geofrey Sserunkuma (KCCA, Uganda), 10 – Luwagga William Kizito (Rio Ave, Portugal), 11– Geoffrey Massa (Baroka, South Africa), 12 – Denis Iguma (Al Ahed, Lebanon), 13 – Moses Oloya (Hanoi T and T, Vietnam), 14 – Nico Wadada Wakiro (Vipers, Uganda), 15 – Godfrey Walusimbi (Gor Mahia, Kenya), 16 – Hassan Mawanda Wasswa (Nijmeh, Lebabon),17 – Faruku Miya (Standard Liege, Belgium), 18 – Denis Onyango (Mamelodi Sundowns, South Africa), 19 – Magoola Salim Omar (El Merriekh, Sudan), 20 – Awany Timothy Dennis (KCCA, Uganda), 21– Muhammad Shaban (Onduparaka, Uganda), 22 – Batambuze Shafik (Tusker, Kenya), 23 – Azira Michael (Colorado Rapids, USA)
