Angola win doesn't guarantee them place in next round
Oct 06, 2008
IF by this time next week the Cranes are in the final phase of the 2010 World Cup/African Cup of Nations qualifiers, Uganda should declare every player in Angola's soccer team a national hero.
By Chris Mutebi
IF by this time next week the Cranes are in the final phase of the 2010 World Cup/African Cup of Nations qualifiers, Uganda should declare every player in Angola's soccer team a national hero.
If on the other hand Cranes are out of the reckoning, a hefty bounty should be set aside to be placed on each and every head in the Angolan squad.
The thing is, Angola could either end or resuscitate Uganda's Nations Cup hopes when they host Niger in the final round of the CAN qualifiers this weekend for no good reason.
If they defeat Niger by one goal, the Cranes would need to win by five to finish ahead of them in second place to qualify. Simply put, any Angola win would oust the Cranes.
But they would also gain nought from defeating Niger - if one ignores the little idiosyncrasy called pride.
Angola’s chances of qualification are about as many as those of a camel going through the eye of a needle.
Victory over Niger on Sunday will push them to ten points on the table, but after a deduction of six points got from the weakest team in the group, they remain with four — three less than Uganda would have got.
A majority of the best eight second placed teams, going by calculations before the final round, will remain with five and six points.
For Angola to stand a chance of joining the final qualification phase, they would have to pray three other fixtures go their way. One of those, which must see Kenya avoid defeat away to Guinea, is very unlikely.
Luis Goncalves knows this and that’s probably the reason he resigned as their coach. Angola's spectacular demise since qualifying for the 2006 World Cup has left Goncalves with one self-respecting option.
But his exit changes nothing because while the departure of a long-serving coach is bound to affect any team, Niger are too demotivated to get a result in Angola. Only ‘sporting kindness' from Angola can save Uganda’s CAN ambitions.
The Cranes gave Angola some football lessons in their tie three months ago so the suggestion that the Palancas Negras would want a qualification berth to go to such a group-mate if they can't have it themselves, may hopefully not be so revolting to them. In fact, it might give Angola the chance to settle the scores if the two teams met at the 2010 CAN, which they will host.
Obviously all this grasping-at-straws business is the result of an infuriating Cranes’ side which ridiculously blew a 1-0 advantage with thirty minutes left to lose 3-1 to Niger.
Expecting them to manage a cricket score against Benin this weekend is even more ridiculous.
IF by this time next week the Cranes are in the final phase of the 2010 World Cup/African Cup of Nations qualifiers, Uganda should declare every player in Angola's soccer team a national hero.
If on the other hand Cranes are out of the reckoning, a hefty bounty should be set aside to be placed on each and every head in the Angolan squad.
The thing is, Angola could either end or resuscitate Uganda's Nations Cup hopes when they host Niger in the final round of the CAN qualifiers this weekend for no good reason.
If they defeat Niger by one goal, the Cranes would need to win by five to finish ahead of them in second place to qualify. Simply put, any Angola win would oust the Cranes.
But they would also gain nought from defeating Niger - if one ignores the little idiosyncrasy called pride.
Angola’s chances of qualification are about as many as those of a camel going through the eye of a needle.
Victory over Niger on Sunday will push them to ten points on the table, but after a deduction of six points got from the weakest team in the group, they remain with four — three less than Uganda would have got.
A majority of the best eight second placed teams, going by calculations before the final round, will remain with five and six points.
For Angola to stand a chance of joining the final qualification phase, they would have to pray three other fixtures go their way. One of those, which must see Kenya avoid defeat away to Guinea, is very unlikely.
Luis Goncalves knows this and that’s probably the reason he resigned as their coach. Angola's spectacular demise since qualifying for the 2006 World Cup has left Goncalves with one self-respecting option.
But his exit changes nothing because while the departure of a long-serving coach is bound to affect any team, Niger are too demotivated to get a result in Angola. Only ‘sporting kindness' from Angola can save Uganda’s CAN ambitions.
The Cranes gave Angola some football lessons in their tie three months ago so the suggestion that the Palancas Negras would want a qualification berth to go to such a group-mate if they can't have it themselves, may hopefully not be so revolting to them. In fact, it might give Angola the chance to settle the scores if the two teams met at the 2010 CAN, which they will host.
Obviously all this grasping-at-straws business is the result of an infuriating Cranes’ side which ridiculously blew a 1-0 advantage with thirty minutes left to lose 3-1 to Niger.
Expecting them to manage a cricket score against Benin this weekend is even more ridiculous.