How the Cranes can find silver lining on what was a dark 2023 Afcon cloud

Before The Cranes played Algeria in their penultimate 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier, this column made it abundantly clear that it was Uganda's best interests that it does not make the cut entirely. Your columnist had good reason to will such an outcome. More on this shortly.

The Cranes headed into their final matchday, Thursday night, with Algeria and Tanzania part of a sophisticated Venn diagram that, while vaguely imagined by some, was tested to destruction by the Taifa Stars' doggedness. Ultimately, Uganda's 2-0 win against Niger was rendered useless by Tanzania's stalemate with Algeria.

The anguished realisation that Algeria was not in the habit of doing Uganda any favours yielded some fascinating, if at times piercingly naive, comments from Cranes fans on social media. If there was any collective whine, it would go somewhat like this: how could they do this to us? Like really? You did that to yourself. Period.

Never have the Cranes looked like the very embodiment of a fish out of water. What’s more is the undisputed fact that this was not a classic case of grinding good ideas into the dirt. There were no good ideas in the first place. 

To add to the underlying air of oddness, Cranes fans were force-fed goals in thinner and thinner dilutions. You needed only five fingers on one hand to count the number of goals scored in a campaign that packed five matches. This, if it must be said out loudly, is simply not good enough.

The recently concluded campaign adds to an accumulation of coincidences and agonising near-misses. More pressingly, whereas close shaves from the yesteryear came against the backdrop of purposeful football being played, it is just exhausting to sit through Cranes matches nowadays. A definitive takedown of Thursday's 2-0 win over Niger illuminates the fact that both goals scored were fortuitous.

A sharp memory will also effortlessly recall the fact that Milton Karisa scored with a cross-shot during the reverse fixture against Niger in Kitende. Rather than make the mental exercise of denial harder, such luck should compel us to establish why Uganda's goals always feel improvised, almost accidental. 

Well constructed goals should not be made to look like something akin to rocket science. They are anything but. If anything, the wider significance such goals take on indicates the development of a telepathy that has been meticulously built over the years. It also speaks to a settled view around what the identity of a team is.

This column is hesitant to heap blame for the Cranes' current predicament on current head coach, Milutin 'Micho' Sredojević. The current rot predates him. While some of his dubious actions have aggravated the situation, we should not tolerate highly charged emotions that appear intent on turning the Serb into a scapegoat.

The reluctance to admit to historical mistakes that may have contributed to yet another bungled Afcon campaign will only succeed in creating an even more complicated situation. This does not mean that Micho is not part of the problem. Far from it. What it means is that his removal will not be the silver bullet that a number of analysts are making it out to be. 

Uganda's repair job should run deeper. If it does, the most threadbare of discoveries should be that Micho is merely a symptom as opposed to the malaise. While the predatory ruthlessness required to excel might demand that Micho's head be handed a pink slip, anything that renders much more difficult the prospect of a meaningful audit should be frowned upon. 

Ultimately, it will only be in the Cranes' best interests that they did not make the grade for the 2023 Afcon finals if their latest near-miss is treated like an inflection point. Should Fufa opt to paper over cracks, as they always love to do, the beat will go on.