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Uganda plays Morocco in what could be their last taste of the 2020 Africa Nations Championship and on the other hand a redeemer from all their sins over the years in the competition on Tuesday evening, an encounter Johnathan McKinstry and has described as a ‘cup final’.
After a shocking loss to debutants Togo in their second Group C game, Uganda is on brink of yet again another elimination from the CHAN tournament at the group stages.
The Cranes sit bottom of the log and will need a huge win against defending champions Morocco today at the Stade de Unification in Douala in order to make it to the quarter-finals of the continental showpiece.
Uganda and the Atlas Lions of Morocco last faced off in the 2014 CHAN edition in South Africa where the Cranes crashed out of that tournament after a 3-1 loss to Morocco in the final group game.
Prior to that game, the Micho’s coached side were still unbeaten in Group B, having defeated Burkina Faso 2-1 courtesy of Yunus Ssentamu goals in each half before drawing goalless with Zimbabwe in their second game.
Morocco ended that run in the final game of the group to go top of Group B and advance to the last eight of the competition in South Africa.
Morocco took the lead just before the half-hour mark when Abdessamad Rafik tucked home Abdelkabir El Ouadi’s cross from the left. However, Uganda, who started the day on top of the group, equalised on the hour mark when Yunus Sentamu scored his third goal of the tournament from close range.
With the score level, Uganda was set to seal their place in the quarterfinals while Morocco was set to be eliminated, but late goals from Mouhcine Iajour and El Ouadi saw Uganda painfully get eliminated while Morocco sailed through to the last eight, where they played Nigeria in Mangaung.
From the Cranes squad that was summoned in that tournament, Only Denis Iguma and Saidi Kyeyune made the cut for this year’s tournament in Cameroon.
How the teams started that day
Uganda: Ochan, Ntambi, Muleme, Kabugo, Kasagga, Ntege, Wasswa, Iguma, Kayizzi, Sentamu, Majwega
Morocco: Moutaouali, Karrouchy, Erraki, Saïd Fettah, Abarhoun, Oulhaj, Abdessamad, Bahri, El Hachimi, El Ouadi, Lamyaghri
Can the Cranes come out on top this time around?
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