Africa-Press – Uganda. For the umpteenth time, the Uganda Cranes will need a result from the final qualifying match, this time away to Malawi on Monday, to book a ticket to the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals.
Yesterday’s goalless draw against Burkina Faso sent the West African nation through while top of Group A with nine points.
And whereas Cranes picked a seventh straight clean sheet in a home Afcon qualifier since 2014, they kept second place with eight points.
But Abdallah Mubiru’s charges are now under pressure to wade off the challenge from Malawi who moved to seven points after beating South Sudan away in Omdurman, Sudan to 1-0 thanks to Richard Mbulu’s strike.
Now the Cranes need a point from Blantyre in four days’ time to seal a third straight ticket to Afcon. The Cranes have been in a similar pressure cooker before.
The most recent was the home decider in the 2017 route when Faruku Miya ended the country’s 37 years of hurt with a winner at home against Comoros on September 4, 2016.
Final day pressure
Mubiru will need another Miya moment from any of his men, beginning with Denis Onyango to as far as Fahad Bayo upfront. Crucial away ties present a whole different context for Cranes. The time Uganda needed a result away to qualify for Afcon failed in a miserable 2-0 loss to Guinea in Casablanca, Morocco which unforgettably sent skipper Andy Mwesigwa into retirement.
2021 AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS FINALS
QUALIFIED TEAMS
Cameroon (as hosts), Mali (as Group A winners or runners-up), Algeria (as Group H winners or runners-up), Senegal (as Group I winners or runners-up), Tunisia (as Group J winners or runners-up), Burkina Faso (as Group B winners or runners-up)
