The Uganda Cranes put up a spirited fight when they played Egypt over two legs in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers. At home, the national football team managed a historical 1-0 win over the Pharaohs. When they went to Alexandria, they were no pushovers despite losing 1-0.
But after losing to key players in the penultimate qualifying game against Ghana due to suspensions, coach Moses Basena’s squad was suspect to Ghanaian attacks and actually two disallowed goals showed how vulnerable the team was on Saturday.
While reflecting on the game, Moses Basena, who will handle the team until the last game against Congo, albeit being a dead rubber fixture after Egypt qualified last night, has one plea for his bosses at FUFA.
“We’re a little bit crestfallen after drawing with Ghana,” he said.
Basena, who has been in charge of five (5) national team games since Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic left for South African giants Orlando Pirates, has witnessed two wins, two losses and 1 draw.
But following Saturday’s draw at Namboole, Basena said his technical team deserves more time.
“We’re disappointed in the results but we are happy in how we worked especially myself as a coach. There were many people doubting our abilities but I think we showed everybody that we can play against any teams,” he argued.
Basena’s games in charge of Cranes
Oct. 07 Uganda 0-0 Ghana (World Cup)
Sept. 05 Egypt 1-0 Uganda (World Cup)
Aug. 31 Uganda 1-0 Egypt (World Cup)
Aug. 19 Rwanda 2-0 Uganda (CHAN)
Aug. 12 Uganda 3-0 Rwanda (CHAN)
