Result
Uganda 0 – 0 Burkina Faso
South Sudan 0 – 1 Malawi
Monday
Malawi v Uganda
Burkina Faso v South Sudan
Group B
Team P W D L G A GD Pts
Burkina Faso 5 2 3 0 5 2 3 9
Uganda 5 2 2 1 3 1 2 8
Malawi 5 2 1 2 3 5 -3 7
South Sudan 5 1 0 4 2 5 -3 3
KAMAPLA – Uganda Cranes and Burkina Faso Stallions played to goalless in a group B 2021 Africa Cup of Nations – Afcon qualifier, staged at the St. Mary’s Stadium –Kitende on Wednesday.
The draw at Kitende seemed a positive result for The visitors, who maintain their top position on nine points, one ahead of The Cranes; and two above The Flames of Malawi, who nipped South Sudan 1-0, away in Omdurman – Sudan to brighten their chances of taking one of the group slots, especially if they beat Uganda in the last fixture – coming up on Monday.
The Stallions technically qualified for the Cameroon Afcon finals on nine points, and only awaits the result between Malawi and Uganda to determine their actual positions – for whatever the outcome of the remaining two games – they can only take a second slot.
Both The Cranes and Flames, celebrations remain on hold until the sound of the last whistle – for only one of the two nations has the chance to qualify. Uganda needs a draw from Lilongwe on Monday to qualify while Malawi wants a straight win as South Sudan is out of the picture.
Uganda who put up a good show, especially after recess, were too shy in the final third. Ibrahim Orit and Farooq Miya tried to cause the difference on a sunny day but the woodwork couldn’t’ allow as Burkina Faso picked on the pace to suppress any maneuvers from the hosts.
Uganda is bidding for a third consecutive Afcon finals under the stewardess of Eng. Moses Magogo as Fufa president after doing so in both 2017 and 2019.
Uganda could have sealed the qualification battle by now but the 0-1 to lowly placed South Sudan in in November 2020, days after beating the same country on a similar margin in Kampala, forced Fufa’s bigwigs to introduce a calculator, which too, is still a dream, though head coach Johnathan McKinstry’s survival is a possibility after he was suspended.
The Cranes interim coach Abdallah Mubiru as well as his team; and players including captain, Dennis Onyango are confident that Uganda will stamp the qualification process on Monday.
“This wasn’t the resulted we wanted. Our target was to win here and go into the final game in a better position but I’m happy with the performance of the players,” said Mubiru, adding: “We deserved more than a point, especially with our performance in the second half but we shall take the point and go back to rectify the mistakes before the game against Malawi. We now know that the job must be completed in Malawi.”
Fufa confirmed early this week that The Cranes will fly to Lilongwe aboard a chartered Uganda Airlines’ plane on Sunday, a day ahead of the final game.
