Barring a second postponement by the Confederation of African Football (Caf), it is exactly 53 days to the start of the Africa Nations Championships (Chan) tournament.
August 2 is when the eighth edition of this football tournament, that pits only players who ply their trade in the domestic leagues come up against each other every two years.
However, following the Uganda Cranes’ recent international friendly games against Cameroon (0-3) on June 6 and The Gambia (1-1) on June 9, the underlying questions are whether Paul Put’s side is ready to overwhelm when Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya host the Chan, among many other pointers on how far the Belgian tactician’s team has come during his 19 months reign.
It is not usual that Put throws his players under the bus even when they disappoint. He tries to take the criticism that may be directed at them. While it was evident against Cameroon that The Cranes had not defended well, following the three goals they conceded, Put had it down to the fact that he was missing key cogs in his defence.
Without the towering figure of Bevis Mugabi at the heart of defence, his decision to use Elvis Bwomono and Elio Capradossi there, was exploited to great effect by the Central Africans. This game showed just how important Mugabi is to the set-up.
Yet, this left questions about why Put would choose to field two five footers in central defence, yet, he had Toby Sibbick and Arnold Odong, both six footers.
GOAL-SCORING CHANCES
Maybe, Put has not yet trusted them. On the other hand, he had Hilary Mukundane there, whose cup of tea is clearing his lines, even in the air. While Mukundane is not the tallest of centre-halves, he was born to defend.
One fact remains that at major tournaments, a team without aerial presence especially during set-pieces, will be exploited to great destruction. Perhaps it is to Put’s advantage, that he gets to solve those problems, otherwise the Chan and the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in December, may prove to be troubling experiences.
In addition, Put sounded upbeat about the fact that his team, even without winning during this international football window, created some goal-scoring chances. It is true that there were some chances, and half chances that The Cranes created.
But, erratic finishing continues to blight this team. One of the reasons Put was hired to replace Milutin Sredojevich, was to find solutions to this problem. In the 2025 Afcon qualifiers, Cranes scored eight goals, while in the 2023 Afcon qualifiers under Micho, they only scored five.
But there is a catch here. Maybe it is not reasonable to compare a group that has Algeria, Niger, and Tanzania to one with South Africa, South Sudan and Congo-Brazzaville in terms of strength.
PLAYER IMPROVEMENT
The Cranes have in the past prided themselves in having solidity at the back. In the six 2025 Afcon qualifiers, Cranes conceded five goals, which does not vary much from the six conceded in the 2023 Afcon qualifiers.
But at the same time, players like Travis Mutyaba, who are expected to be the heart beat of Put’s side, are not exactly that. Put recognized the fact that the lack of playing time at Girondins Bordeaux for Mutyaba, has stifled his progress.
Yet, during the friendly games against Gambia and Cameroon, few really set the stage alight. Allan Oyirwoth of the New England Revolution in the USA showed some flashes, as did Jonah Kakande, when he came off the bench.
Clearly, Kakande, looks like the kind of player who is expected to be the impact substitute for Put. He should come in handy during the Chan, although it is not obvious what his starting eleven will be, when that tournament comes calling.
Particularly in attack, URA FC striker, Ivan Ahimbisibwe was taken on the tour to Morocco, but struggled to get minutes. But remember, he is the one striker from the Uganda Premier League, that Put chose.
Matters were not helped that the centre-forward Put had zeroed on in January, Isaac Ogwang, the Vipers SC man, got injured, and has not played enough lately. Furthermore, defender cum midfielder Kenneth Semakula continues to be an enigma.
Evidently, Put is still struggling to find a defined spot for him in his team. While Ssemakula was developed as a centre-back, his size appears to create doubt about his capacity there at the top level of football.
Yet, at right-back, Ssemakula will not give you the overarching runs, let alone well weighted crosses that trouble opposing defences. That is Nico Wadada’s fodder, but one wonders what Put made of him.
GAME TEMPO
Notably, for some reason, Cranes’ game tempo continues to be quite low. This made it quite easy for Cameroon and Gambia to get back into shape quite easily. First, while Cranes has some really fast players in the team, the challenge for a number of them, is ball retention and passing accuracy.
Without the ability to use the ball smartly, even with pacy players, more often than not, little could be made out of Cranes attacks in terms of structure. How Put solves this passing problem, when he is with the players for the little time they are in camp, makes for such a conundrum.
In a nutshell, positive as Put may be , he probably knows more than he is willing to let out to the public about his team, expected to challenge Africa’s finest in the next few months at major tournaments.
For what it is worth, having two friendly games in Morocco helped The Cranes acclimatize since that is where the Afcon will be later, albeit in different temperatures.
Not going to read too much into the two friendlies. Put may have been checking out players he doesn’t know well.
The Cranes regressed so much after Desabre left. They should be right up there with Senegal by now.
Now they are rebuilding and doing it the hard way. I hope FUFA learned their lessons.
This is not a settled team so expect more blind passes and could explain the slow tempo. However, they should at least be scoring goals.
Maybe, they are not creating quality chances? Whipping a ball into a box and praying, should not count towards chances created.