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The Africa Nations Championships (CHAN) tournament draws closer to the start dates, The Touchline Sports’ Edwin Waiswa takes a closer look at how the Cranes of Uganda and their group C opponents have prepared for the competition which will also see the renewal of the neighbourhood rivalry in the East African derby as Jonathan McKinstry faces his former paymasters.
The Cranes aim to fly high on the fifth attempt
The Uganda national men’s team under coach Jonathan Mckinstry will be aiming to perform better than the previous four consecutive editions where they have failed to make it past the group stages.
Uganda who eliminated Burundi on an aggregate score of 6-0 went on to lose key players who moved on for greener pastures outside the country and these include Allan Okello, Fahad Bayo and Mustafa Kiiza who were all part of the team that played against Burundi.
The cranes who miss the services of injured defender John Revita have however managed to assemble a team of younger players alongside the experienced ones who returned to play in the local league such as Dennis Iguma and Tonny Mawejje who are expected to add a level of experience to the team.
The early preparations prior to the CHAN tournament have seen Uganda put up a brilliant display in the pre-CHAN mini-tournament, were they played three games registering two wins and a draw having scored six goals and just conceding in once.
Jonathan Mckinstry has also got the experience at the CHAN tournament after guiding Rwanda to the quarter-finals in the 2016 edition, their best performance ever at the Championships. The East African derby in group C will be an entertaining match to watch as the McKinstry will be facing his former paymasters, Rwanda
The Atlas Lions to roar once again
The Atlas Lions of Morocco are the favourites to top group C as they will be aiming to defend the title they won in 2018. Morocco’s strength lies in their top tier league which has provided a lot of teams dominating in the African Club championships.
RS Berkane is the champion of the 2020 CAF Confederation Cup while Wydad Athletic Club managed to reach the semi-final stages of the CAF Champions League, a feat which is admirable to many Clubs across Africa.
Morocco under the head coach Lhovcine Ammouta managed to win their friendly 2-1 against Guinea on the 8th of January. Ayoub el Kaabi and Zouhair el Moutaraji from Wydad Athletic Club will be key players on the Moroccan team.
Togo – The debutants
Togo is the only team making its debut appearance at the CHAN tournament in the 6th edition and they are clearly the underdogs in group C. But, they hold the capacity of turning out as the surprise package in the group.
Togo eliminated West African Giants the Super Eagles of Nigeria on a 4-3 aggregate score to qualify to the championship.
Head coach Jean-Paul Abalo has started his preparations with a low start having lost the friendly against Benin by a 1-0 margin.
The Amavubi Stars waiting to shine bright in Cameroon
The Rwanda national team is boosted by the return of captain Jacques Tuyisenge and Emery Bayisenge who were part of the squad that reached the quarter-finals in 2016, but missed out on the 2018 edition when they left Rwanda for professional football.
Vincent Mashami, the head coach is confident to bring back home positive results despite enduring tougher preparations, having lost a friendly 1-0 against Congo Brazzaville.
Rwanda will start it’s CHAN games against the favourites Morocco but the tie that will define their performance will be an East African derby against neighbours of Uganda in their second game.
Group C teams
- Morocco
- Rwanda
- Uganda
- Togo
