Uganda fails to qualify for Africa Nations Cup

Nov 19, 2014

Captain Andrew Mwesigwa is sent off as Uganda's road to the 2015 Africa Nations Cup finals comes to an end against Guinea in Morocco.


By Joseph Kizza

CASABLANCA - Captain Andrew Mwesigwa was sent off as Uganda failed to progress to the 2015 Africa Nations Cup finals after losing 2-0 to Guinea in the Moroccan city of Casablanca.

The Ugandan skipper was shown red after a reckless foul in the 59th minute, resulting in a penalty.

His side needed a draw to qualify for the next level of the continental tournament, as well as break a 36-year jinx, but they still came up short.

Guinea, needing a win to qualify, took the lead in the 23rd minute through captain Ibrahim Traore, before Seydouba Soumah slotted in from the spot right after the hour-mark.

They held on tight to their lead after starting off strong, dominating possession for long periods, and defending in unison.

The Cranes, on the other hand, could not find their rhythm and were greatly punished for their flaws. Matters were worsened when Coach Micho Sredojevich’s men were reduced to ten, failing to recover in the end.

Meanwhile, Ghana beat Togo 3-1 in the other Group E match to progress as well. Uganda slipped to third place and Togo remained rock-bottom.

Uganda last featured at the finals in 1978 where they reached the final and suffered a 2-0 defeat against Ghana.

Since then, this stage of the continental competition has remained elusive, and it continued to be the case after Wednesday's result.

The Cranes’ progression to the Cup finals this time had seemed very likely, having started the campaign on a high, with a draw against Ghana in Kumasi and a win over Guinea in Kampala.

The East African side saw its campaign almost fall apart with back-to-back defeats against Togo, but quickly placed themselves back on track with a memorable victory over the Black Stars in Kampala, only to be eventually undone by a Guinea side that was fresh from thrashing Togo 4-1 in the second-last Group E game played in Lome.

None of the players on Micho’s current squad had been born at the time Uganda lost to Ghana in Accra 36 years ago, underlining how far back The Cranes’ nonappearance had stretched.

And it was the resolve to turn such misfortunes around that emerged as the central plot in The Cranes’ recent campaigns, having come so close in the last three.

The latest campaign presented better odds for Uganda to move on to the finals, with a draw good enough. But the chance was again squandered by a side that has convincingly proven to be dominant in the region and only needed to take it a notch higher.

Elsewhere, Nigeria failed to qualify from Group A after being held 2-2 by South Africa, which had already qualified prior. It means the West African nation will not defend its title next year.

The countries that have qualified for the finals are; Equatorial Guinea (as host), Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Congo Brazzaville, DR Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Mali, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia and Zambia.

Morocco had earlier been set to host the tournament, but when they were unwilling to do so over Ebola fears, they were disqualified by the Confederation of African Football (Caf) and were later replaced by Equatorial Guinea.

The tournament will be played from January 17 to February 8.

 

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