Written By |
Uganda Cranes Must win it's remaining games to keep their World Cup hopes alive
Search
Sports Desk
The Uganda Cranes will this evening face The Zebras of Botswana in a crucial FIFA World Cup Qualifier Group G encounter in Francistown, Botswana. The national team has been camping in Gaborone for the past few days and traveled to Francistown yesterday evening ahead of the decisive match.
Uganda Cranes players in Botswana
Coincidentally, today’s fixture falls on Uganda’s 63rd Independence Anniversary, a day when Ugandans both at home and in the diaspora celebrate national pride — adding symbolic weight to the encounter.
Known as Dipitse in the Tswana language, Botswana’s Zebras have never defeated the Cranes in their last four meetings. Uganda holds a perfect record with four straight wins and an 8–2 goal aggregate, a statistic that could inspire Coach Paul Put’s men as they seek a positive result to keep their qualification hopes alive.
Uganda Cranes defender Aziz Kayondo during the training
Uganda faces an uphill task in Group G, with both remaining matches played away from home. After today’s match against Botswana, the Cranes will travel to Algiers to take on group leaders Algeria on Tuesday, October 14, at the Hocine Aït Ahmed Stadium.
Head coach Paul Put
Algeria, currently top of the group with 19 points, four ahead of Uganda, need only one more win — likely against Somalia — to automatically secure qualification.
Uganda Cranes training
This leaves second-placed Uganda (15 points) fighting for a chance to finish as one of the best four second-placed teams, which would advance to the continental playoff round. The winner from that stage will represent Africa in the intercontinental final qualifying round for a place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, to be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Torch Media Africa
