Crested Cranes need to dig deep
Defender Aisha Nantongo (in yellow) must command the backline better. PHOTO/JOHN BATANUDDE
What you need to know:
The sides drew 3-3 in the first leg of this two-legged affair, which Uganda chose to host in Rwanda at Pele Stadium – Kigali on Wednesday so only a win can do for Crested Cranes.
Crested Cranes are staring at shock elimination at the hands of Rwanda in the first round of the Caf Women’s Olympic Qualifiers in Kigali on Sunday.
The sides drew 3-3 in the first leg of this two-legged affair, which Uganda chose to host in Rwanda at Pele Stadium – Kigali on Wednesday so only a win can do for Crested Cranes.
Should the sides draw again, then the encounter will - according to Fufa's communication director Ahmed Hussein - be pushed into extra time and possibly a shootout to determine who will face Cameroon in the next round.
Cameroon qualified for the 2012 Olympics and stopped at the Caf-Conmebol playoffs in the last edition's qualification campaign.
History also continues to count against Uganda as their previous entries into the Olympic Qualifiers have ended at this stage or earlier. In 2019, for Tokyo 2020, they lost 4-2 on aggregate to Ethiopia. Then ahead of the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, the then She Kobs withdrew to hand advantage to Kenya and Eritrea respectively.
Looking inward
“We failed to control the game and had many defensive errors,” Uganda’s coach Ayub Khalifa said in the aftermath of the draw on Wednesday.
“So what we want to do for the second leg is not look at Rwanda but more at ourselves. We need to do better,” he added.
Khalifa has a tough job on his hands because for the last five international engagements for Crested Cranes, going back to the July 2022 Africa Women Cup of Nations (Awcon) and ending with Wednesday’s clach, Uganda has not kept a clean sheet.
Even more notably, Ugandan players can be judged to be culpable of all but one of the 11 goals they have conceded in that period.
What cannot be doubted is Uganda’s attacking firepower. But they seem to concede even more than they score. They have scored nine times in that period – failing to score just once against Senegal in their Awcon opener.
For that reason, the match is crucially about how Crested Cranes take care of themselves defensively.
CAF WOMEN OLYMPIC QUALIFIERS
FIRST ROUND – Second Leg
Rwanda vs. Uganda
Pele Stadium, Kigali – 4pm
Sides drew 3-3 in first leg
Probable XI: Ruth Aturo (C); Samalie Nakacwa, Sumaya Komuntale, Aisha Nantongo, Bridget Nabisaalu; Joan Nabirye, Shamirah Nalugya, Hasifah Nassuna; Sandra Nabweteme, Fazila Ikwaput
