Sand Cranes plan to shut out Ivorians long shots
Pumped Up. The Sand Cranes going through their paces. PHOTO BY JOHN BATANUDDE
What you need to know:
- The winner after the two-legged encounters will qualify for finals scheduled for December 9-14 in Cairo, Egypt.
- Senegal are the defending champions for the tournament will act as a qualification avenue for African teams to the 2019 Fifa Beach Soccer World Cup.
Kampala. In the next four days leading to the crunch to the Afcon Beach Soccer qualifying tie with Ivory Coast at Spenah Beach on Sunday, Sand Cranes head coach Salim Muwonge has shifted his game plan to stop the visitors attacking approach.
Although not forsaking the offensive approach entirely, Muwonge believes the qualification job will be done the moment they put a stop to Ivory Coast’s long shots that rattle many defences on the continent.
“We know the Ivorians like to strike long shots and that is why we have put emphasis on the defensive strategy. We have conditioned the players’ bodies so that they can easily transit from offensive to defensive formation,” Muwonge told Daily Monitor after yesterday morning training in Entebbe.
Sand Cranes skipper Allan Katwe says they have worked on all aspects ahead of the daunting task they believe is mission possible.
“We have mainly worked on the endurance in the last eight days. We are going to be a different team (from the one that was ejected by Ghana in 2015 over two legs).
“The players are in good shape and have no complaints at all. The mood in camp shows that we will eject Ivory Coast and go to the next level,” Katwe revealed.
The winner after the two-legged encounters will qualify for finals scheduled for December 9-14 in Cairo, Egypt.
Senegal are the defending champions for the tournament will act as a qualification avenue for African teams to the 2019 Fifa Beach Soccer World Cup.
