East Africa’s remaining World Cup 2018 hopefuls Uganda Cranes will have to travel a bumpy road if their dream of a maiden appearance at the biggest football stage is to come true.
The Cranes were drafted in group “E” alongside continental heavyweights; Ghana, Egypt and Congo Brazzaville as per the draw conducted by the Confederations of African Football (CAF) on Friday in Cairo, Egypt.
Ghana ranked 37 by FIFA will be gunning for their fourth appearance while Egypt (45) will hunting for their third. Both Uganda (72) and Congo (60) have not graced World Cup.
Uganda Coach Milutin “Micho” Sredojovic reacting after the draw was categorical that the qualifiers should be the least of their worries at the moment – all focus should be on reaching AFCON 2017 in Gabon.
“Ugandans we have no right to talk and think about World Cup Qualifiers. We need total focus and concentrate on AFCON qualifier versus Comoros then after think of Word Cup Qualifiers.”
Micho is on the verge of returning Cranes to AFCON since 1978; a win in their last group match in September could make it a reality.
The Full Draw
Group A: Tunisia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, Libya
Group B: Algeria, Nigeria, Cameroon, Zambia
Group C: Ivory Coast, Mali, Morocco, Gabon
Group D: Senegal, Cape Verde, South Africa, Burkina Faso
Group E: Ghana, Egypt, Congo Brazzaville, Uganda
Match Days
1: Oct 3-11 2016
2: Nov 7-15 2016
3/4: Aug 28-Sept 5 2017
5: Oct 2-10 2017
6: Nov 6-14 2017
Note: Group winners qualify for 2018 World Cup in Russia
