The football conversation has already shifted from the African Nations Championship (Chan) tournament to the 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers, as far as the Uganda Cranes are concerned.
Cranes built a sense of excitement when they qualified for the knock-out stages for the first time in a tournament, which is in its seventh edition. This was seen in the big turnout at the Nelson Mandela stadium.
It had been a while since that stadium was packed to the raptors, as has been seen in the Chan. Growing interest in their team is one thing, but also, the expectations in The Cranes have grown exponentially.
Paul Mukatabala, the National Teams Officer, noted that amidst the disappointment of The Cranes not making it to the Chan semi-finals, after the 0-1 loss to Senegal in the quarters, the public surely expect the team to build on the milestones achieved.
Following a poor start to the Chan, Cranes turned their fortunes around, which was a sign of strong character, and the never-say-die mentality. Right now, The Cranes, who are in group G of the 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers, remain fourth out of six teams, locked at nine points, six behind Algeria, occupying the automatic qualification spot after six games played. Based on this, The Cranes’ chances of qualification are very slim.
Yet, with four more games to play, 12 points are on offer. If Cranes won them all, they would get to 21 points. While it may seem improbable, Mukatabala argued that for the players to give it their all would matter in as far as developing their competitive streak is concerned.
Maybe, the wave built up throughout the Chan can be extended to the games against Mozambique (September 5) and Somalia (September 8), both of which are at Namboole. But also, The Cranes will be expected to showcase better application in controlling games, a facet that defines good teams, without which games are hard to win.
Qualification campaigns especially long ones are up to FUFA. If you look at the Cranes’ qualification history, there are bursts and peaks of hope and then FUFA takes the eye off the goal and things go awry. Often leading to missing out by one game, one goal or one point.
The same happened earlier in this World Cup campaign. FUFA need to maintain utmost vigilance and concentration to the end.
The players will feed off that (hopefully positive) vigilance and respond on the field.