David GOMBE
Uganda Cranes will be seeking revival when they taken on Guinea in their second group C contest under the lights of Mandela National Stadium in Namboole.
The Cranes suffered a humiliating 3-0 to Algeria in their opening game on Monday and will be aiming to make amends against Guinea.
Guinea overcame Niger in the maiden CHAN final tournament game to be hosted at the refurbished Mandela National Stadium.
Uganda Cranes head coach Morley Byekwaso is hopeful the Cranes can turn the page against Guinea.
I prefer not to talk about the past but to focus on what lies ahead. We know it’ll be a difficult game. We need to win to keep our hopes alive,” he said.
“Some of our players are still recovering from knocks, but we hope to have everyone available. When you’re humiliated, it’s painful, but that’s part of football. I believe our fans will be with us tomorrow.”
Guinea head coach Souleymane Camara remains focused ahead of the epic contest.
“Just because we’re facing a team that lost their first match doesn’t mean it will be easy. It’s going to be tough. They’ll come at us, and we’ll need to apply the best strategies to counter the support from their home fans,” Camara warned.
“We must stay focused. Our objective is clear: we want the three points.”
Guinea are aiming at extending their eight match unbeaten run in CHAN regulation time.
This is also the first meeting between both sides, Guinea has previously performed well against East African opposition, while Uganda’s record against West African teams has been a mix of surprise wins and losses.
Before Uganda Cranes takes on Guinea, South Africa will face Algeria in their first game of the Campaign at 5Pm.
Uganda Cranes Probable XI:
Joels Mutakubwa (GK), Gavin Kizito, Herbert Achai, Hillary Mukundane, Rogers Torach, Joel Sserunjogi, Enock Ssebaggala, Abdul-Karim Watambala, Allan Okello, Patrick Jonah Kakande, Yunus Sentamu.
