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What you need to know:
SOCCER. Cranes chances of a first Nations Cup appearance in decades hinge entirely on them conjuring up a result in Francistown.
Every Uganda Cranes’ qualification campaign for the coveted Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) starts well. Two games in, Cranes are literally flying.
These pages have discussed the third game syndrome. After two fixtures, regardless of whether the game is played at home or away, the tally normally rises to seven points not the desired nine.
Those opening two games raise the hopes of a nation desperate to end a four-decade hiatus. If you dare bring perspective to the equation, you are questioned on things like patriotism and accused of having an axe to grind with the local soccer governing body, Fufa, or even Ugandan football. Blindness sets in, after all we are all fans.
Of course, that third game brings a tinge of reality. The on-going 2017 Afcon qualifiers have offered something slightly different.
Defeat in Ouagadougou to Burkina Faso left Uganda stuck on six points and not the usual seven. This made the return encounter here a must-win for coach Micho Sredojevic. An ultra-professional Burkinabe side bored Namboole stiff to easily earn a point. It could have been worse. Jonathan Pitroipa caught goalkeeper Dennis Onyango in no man’s land.
He watched helplessly as the ball sailed over the bar of an unguarded goal. Consequently, the West Africans, beaten Afcon finalists in 2013, assumed control of group D.
Automatic passage
Only the group winners, 13 in all, will get automatic passage to Gabon next year. Namboole was a quiet and lonely place even if the campaign was not done, at least mathematically. Cranes have never been on the right side of calculators and that is what they are now reduced starting with today’s game in Francistown against the hosts.
It’s widely assumed that Burkina Faso will collect a maximum six points in their remaining two games to accumulate 13 points.
Uganda can manage the same tally only that it will only guarantee second place thanks to Burkinabe’s superior head to head. Many do not even want to hear or read what the permutations will be. But, two best overall runners-up will qualify for the tournament. Uganda lie fourth on this table on seven points, one behind leaders Benin with Tunisia and Mauritania sandwiched in between.
Sadly, you may only need to look at this table again if Uganda devour Botswana away from home. Short of that, Namboole will be one empty place when Comoros visit in September.
In all, today is the last throw of the dice before everyone counts this campaign as a routine heartache…
