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AFRICAN NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP

Uganda Cranes face tough Senegal hurdle

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Uganda Cranes will face a tough test against Senegal in a Group B match on Wednesday night at the on-going TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN) 2022 in Algeria.

After picking a goalless draw in their opening match against two time winners DR Congo, Coach Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic will be hoping that his team can put their act together to get maximum points at the 19th May 1956 Stadium in Annaba.

While Uganda have one point, Senegal lead the group after their 1-0 win against Cote d’Ivoire in the opening tie.

“This match against Senegal is like a final for us. We are not taking chances and we must be at our best,” said Uganda’s coach Sredojevic.

The Ugandan coach who is not new to this tournament having led Zambia to the quarter final stage in the last edition in Cameroon said they must be at their best against a good Senegal team.

“So I have watched Senegal, I have respect for their individual quality, and team quality of Senegal. We need to match and outmatch Senegal’s qualities and to display the best performance to get results,” added Sredojevic.

But Senegal’s coach Pape Thiaw has also made it clear that facing Uganda will not be an easy task.

“Uganda has an ambitious team. They are aggressive especially on the set pieces and second balls.We are expecting a difficult battle against Uganda and are prepared for it. We are outsiders. We accept and work to change the situation,” said the Senegal coach during a press conference.

Meanwhile, CECAFA’s other representatives Ethiopia suffered a 1-0 defeat to hosts Algeria in their second Group A match played at the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Baraki, Algier on Tuesday. Ethiopia who started the competition with a goalless draw against Mozambique will now face Libya in their last group match on 21st, January, 2023. After picking their second straight win, Algeria are the first team to qualify for the quarter final stage.

Sudan who are yet to kick a ball in the competition after 2020 champions Morocco did not show-up will start their campaign on Thursday against Ghana. The Ghana team lost their opening match 2-1 to Madagascar.

AFRICAN NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP

Sudan did not prepare well for CHAN – Coach Tia

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The head coach of Sudan’s national team has blamed the poor performance of the team at the TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN) 2022 on-going in Algeria to lack of good preparations.

Burhan Tia has made it clear after the team bowed out in the group stage that the preparations were not the best, and they did not have all the players with the team.

The Sudan started the competition with a walkover 2020 champions Morocco who did not show-up for, and lost 3-1 to Ghana in the second match. In the last Group C match played on January 23rd Sudan suffered a 3-0 defeat to Madagascar.

It was also the worst performance for the Sudan national team at CHAN tournament after they finished third in their previous participation in 2011 and 2018 respectively.

But Tia has now made it clear that the training preparations for his team were not the best. “I insist our training and preparations for this tournament was not the best. We were not able to engage all the players. We wanted it to be more engaging. What happened wasn’t our plan,” added the Coach.

Although the Sudan team camped in Tunisia before the CHAN tournament and played build-up matches against Uganda and Cameroon, Tia says they did not have the best preparations.

“Our ambitions and goals were very big. We were keen on presenting a good performance, but we failed. We must benefit from the lessons of our mistakes and better ourselves in future,” added Tia.

The coach made it clear that he will make a compressive report to evaluate the team to see the week points and were improvements can be made it the future.

The other teams from the CECAFA region Ethiopia and Uganda also failed to qualify out of the groups. Ethiopia started with a goalless draw against Mozambique in Group A, and later suffered 1-0 and 3-1 defeats to Algeria and Libya respectively.

In Group B Uganda Cranes settled for a 0-0 draw against two time champions DR Congo, and beat Senegal 1-0 in the second match. The Cranes suffered a 3-1 defeat to Ivory Coast in the last group match.

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AFRICAN NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP

End of the road for Ethiopia, Uganda

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CECAFA representatives Ethiopia and Uganda have exited the on-going TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN) 2022.

Ethiopia suffered a 3-1 defeat to Libya in their last Group A match played on Saturday to finish bottom of the log.

On Sunday Uganda fell by a similar 3-1 defeat to Cote d’Ivoire in a Group B match played at the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Baraki, Algiers.

Coach Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic’s team went into the match leading the group and only needed a draw to make history and qualify for their first knock out stage in the CHAN competition.

Karamoko Sankara and Patrick Quotro gave Cote d’Ivoire the lead before Uganda pulled a goal back through a penalty converted by Moses Waiswa. After the interval Uganda Cranes pushed forward to try and level matters, but the Cote d’Ivoire side made it 3-1 through Kramo Aubin.

The 3-0 win for Senegal against 10-man DR Congo in Annaba saw them also qualifier for the quarter final stage. Cote d’Ivoire who finished second will now face hosts Algeria in the first quarter final match on Friday.

“We conceded early goal which disorganised us. But the boys tried to settle and pushed forward, but it was not our day,” said Uganda Cranes coach Sredojevic.

While Ethiopia opened their campaign with a goalless draw against Mozambique, they lost the second match 1-0 to hosts Algeria and lost the third match on Saturday. Uganda who were making their sixth appearance in the competition kick started with a goalless draw against two time champions DR Congo, and stopped Senegal 1-0 in their second match.

Later tonight Sudan will face Madagascar in a Group C match which will decide if they qualify for the quarter final stage. Sudan has been the most successful team in the CECAFA Zone in the history of the CHAN tournament having finished third in 2011 and 2018, the only times they participated. .

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AFRICAN NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP

We must take our chances against Libya, says Coach Abate

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Ethiopia’s head coach Webetu Abate has said his team must be sharp at goal when they face Libya on Saturday in the last Group A match at the TotalEnergies African Nations (CHAN) 2022 in Algeria.

After starting with a draw against Mozambique and losing the second match 1-0 to hosts Algeria, Coach Abate’s team cannot take more chances if they hope to advance to the next round.

Ethiopia will have to beat bottom placed Libya by a good margin and also hope that Algeria defeat Mozambique if they are to stand a chance in the knock out stage.

“We have corrected our mistakes and this match against Libya is like a final for us. Playing against Libya will be difficult because they have nothing to loose since they lost two matches already,” added the Ethiopian coach.

On Sunday another team from the CECAFA Zone Uganda will return to action against Cote d’Ivoire in a Group B match in Algiers, while Sudan face Madagascar in a Group C match on Monday in Oran.

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AFRICAN NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP

Sudan suffer defeat to Ghana in Constantine

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Sudan suffered defeat a 3-1 to Ghana’s 10-man team in a Group C match played last night at the on-going TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN) 2022 in Algeria.

The Sudan team needed a clear win to qualify for the quarter final before playing their last match against Madagascar.

Al Gozoli Nooh gave Sudan the lead after 31 minutes at the Mohamed Hamlaoui Stadium in Constantine. But the Ghana team The Galaxies kept pushing and leveled matters through Konadu Yiadom in the third minute of extratime.

After recess The Falcons of Jediane came back determined to get more goals,  but the Ghana defenders were up to the task. But Ghana got a penalty after 65 minutes and skipper Daniel Afriyie netted from the spot.

Sudan continued to push upfront and Salaheldin Mahmoud Nemer’s would have been equalizer was canceled by the referee after six minutes of added time.

Ghana’s captain Afriyie was later sent off for a dangerous challenge on Walieldin Khdir Safour, but Ghana added a third goal through substitute Seidu Suraj off a Jonah Attuquaye cross after 98 minutes.

Burhan Tia, the Sudan coach blamed his team for failing to defend well. “We conceded poor goals and also failed to take the many chances we created,” added Tia. He however made it clear that they must go back and improve ahead of their deciding match against Madagascar on 23rd January, 2023 in Oran.

Sudan are bottom of the group, but a convincing victory by over two goals against Madagascar could see them qualify for the quarter final stage.

In their last appearances in 2011and 2018, Sudan has finished third in the CHAN competitions.

Group C standing

                       P    W     D     L    GF   GA   GD   Pts

Madagascar   1      1      0      0      2      1       1     3

Ghana            2      1      0     1      4      3       1      3

Sudan            1      0      0      1      1      3      -2     0

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