Uganda head coach Paul Put insists The Cranes will be ready to go toe-to-toe with the Super Eagles of Nigeria as well as the other teams in Group C when the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations kicks off in Morocco later this year, Footynaija.com reports.
The Cranes will have to battle their way past Nigeria, Tunisia and Tanzania in the group stage of the upcoming tournament for a chance to progress into knockout rounds.
On paper, Nigeria and Tunisia, in no particular order, will be favourites to clinch the top two spots in Group C but Uganda boss Put has warned that his side will not travel to Morocco just to make up the numbers.
Related Post
“They (Super Eagles) are a perennial powerhouse. There are threats everywhere from their squad with top talent and European experience,” Put told CAF Online.
“Tunisia are highly organised, technical, tactically astute. They are hard to break down but we will see. For our neighbours Tanzania they are a good mix of energy and familiarity — regional derbies are never easy.
“We will respect all of them, but we are not intimidated. We will give a good account of ourselves.”
Uganda’s best ever outing at the Africa Cup of Nations was a second-place finish at the 1978 edition hosted by Ghana. They will head into this year’s tournament aiming to qualify from the group stage for only the third time in their history.
Meanwhile, Nigeria has tasted AFCON glory on three separate occasions and came really close to a fourth triumph last time out. The Super Eagles will be eyeing another deep run that could potentially take them all the way this time around.
