The Uganda Women’s national football team, Crested Cranes, will be eyeing victory when they take on Ethiopia on Wednesday, October 20.
The two nations clash in the first round, first leg, of the qualifiers at the St. Mary’s Stadium in Kitende.
The Crested Cranes must feel they have had enough preparations for the contest having been in camp for over a month.
George Lutalo’s side also took part in the 2021 COSAFA Women’s Championship in South Africa as guest before they were eliminated at the group stage.
Lutalo says his side is ready for the game and that the COSAFA tournament helped the team ‘understand’ where they are.
“I think we have had enough time to prepare for this game. Lutalo said.
“Everyone is ready and the team is in perfect shape.
“The tournament we had in South Africa was important because it helped us understand where we stand. We realized where we need to improve and that is what we have been working on.”
As they seek to qualify for their second continental showpiece, they know they have to negotiate two hurdles with Ethiopia being the first.
For Ethiopia, their target will be a decent result on the road coupled with an away goal.
They are hoping to reach their third AFCON tournament having been at both the 2004 and 2014 edition where they were eliminated at the semi finals and group stage, respectively.
Ethiopia come into the game with an edge over Uganda in their recent meetings.
Despite losing it the Crested Cranes in the 2019 CECAFA Cup, Lucy eliminatedUganda in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics qualifiers thanks to a 4-2 aggregate victory.
They also beat the Crested Cranes 4-1 at CECAFA in 2016.
