Uganda v Tunisia as Onyango set for CAF Awards

PIC: Cranes coach Micho and co take players through training

AFCON 2017 PREPARATION

Uganda v Tunisia (Today at 4.30pm)

CAF Awards (Thursday)

Denis Onyango is just 48 hours away from being crowned African-based CAF Footballer of the Year.

The 29 year-old Ugandan goalkeeper travels to Nigeria capital Abuja today, optimistic of becoming the first Ugandan to win Africa's biggest football individual prize.

And why shouldn't he be optimistic? He is a CAF Championas League winner, Telekom Cup champion, South Africa's PSL goalkeeper of the year, a serious contender for Africa-based Player of the Year.

 And don't forget, last week, the Cranes custodian was declared Africa's best goalkeeper after the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) —a reputable organization that chronicles the history and records of association football —in its annual review, rated him among the top ten goalkeepers in the world.

Onyango could be joined by Cranes coach Micho Sredejovic and any other official from FUFA for the glamorous awards ceremony, considering that the Serbian coach and Cranes will be vying for the Coach of the Year and Team of the Year Awards respectively.

Bring on Tunisia

But before the awards on Thursday, Micho must first deal with an urgent and sensitive matter today —and that is deciding which 23 players will make up his final Nations Cup squad.

Micho chose to make his final selection after the high-profile friendly against Tunisia at the Menzah Olympic Stadium.

Three players will be dropped from the squad of 26 that has been involved in the national team's camp since Sunday. And unless there are injuries, it's very unlikely that there will be any ground-shaking omissions.

Micho will field two teams against Tunisia's Carthage Eagles, who returned to Tunis on Monday from a week-long training camp in Spain.

The Tunisia friendly will enable Cranes assess their progress thus far and tactics against North African opposition —a perfect insight into what Cranes will confront in their second Group D game against Egypt on January 21.

Egyptian teams often rely on technique, ball possession and nimble short-passing combinations —elements that Cranes have struggled to contend with in previous games against the Pharaohs.

Cranes' last visit to Tunisia during a Nations Cup qualifier in 1999 ended in a disaster. Back then, the Cranes were thumped 6-0 and such painful memories would understandably call for retribution today.

Cranes coach Micho talks to his stars before training in Tunis

Battle for places

Such memories, combined with the fight for places in the final Nations Cup team, would call for a game of heated emotions, passion, high intensity, with tackles flying everywhere on the pitch. But then again, the price that comes with that could prove costly for both sides.

Cranes and the Carthage Eagles should be experienced enough to see out the friendly without any major incidents.

Coaches Micho Sredejovic and Henkry Kasperczak will most likely look to the game as an opportunity of assessing player fitness levels, trying out different tactical formations and also working on small but very important details like set-pieces.

After the Tunisia friendly, Cranes will travel to Dubai for a seven-day training camp during which they will also play reigning Nations Cup champions Ivory Coast and Slovakia in two other friendly matches before connecting to Gabon on January 14.

Cranes coach Micho Sredejovic will spend a significant part of the team's sessions in Dubai working on his tactical masterplan for the tournament.