The Crested Cranes find themselves in a challenging position as they enter the return leg after suffering a 2-1 defeat in the first leg held at the FUFA Technical Center in Njeru just a week ago.
Uganda's national women’s team, the Crested Cranes will play Algeria in the return leg of the 2024 Women's Africa Cup of
Nations qualifiers.
The Crested Cranes find themselves in a challenging
position after suffering a 2-1 defeat in the first
leg held at the FUFA Technical Center in Njeru just a week ago.
Algeria's
Habiba Karchouni and Imane Chabel scored each
early in the second half while Fauzia Najjemba pulled one back for Uganda in
the closing stages.
On Tuesday, the Crested Cranes must
strive to overturn the odds that are stacked against them, especially as they
face a spirited Algerian team with an enthusiastic home crowd expected to fill
Stade Olympic D’oran and support their side.
To progress to the next stage of the qualifiers, Uganda
needs to secure a two-goal victory over Algeria, a formidable task for the
Ugandan squad. But, the team's coach, Ayubu Khalifa, remains undisturbed by
the challenge, saying that he has spent the past week preparing his team for a
resolute offensive strategy.
Khalifa said that he and
his technical staff have analyzed the weaknesses of the Algerian team and are
looking to exploit those weaknesses to secure a win for their side.
//Cue in: I can say we …
Cue out: …tomorrow’s game”//
The winner of the aggregate score between Uganda and
Algeria will advance to the final qualification round and will face either
Burundi or Ethiopia.
The Crested Cranes are pushing to return to the
continental showpiece for the third time after they participated in the
previous edition where they were making a return after spending twenty years
without participating in the prestigious tournament while their opponents
Algeria never qualified.
During the final tournament (AFCON), Uganda was placed in Group A with Morocco,
Senegal, and Burkina Faso. Unfortunately, the Crested Cranes could only secure
one point, finishing at the bottom of the group after one draw and two losses.