Uganda captain Okewei after South Africa’s defeat: “We have a lot to do”

Uganda captain Emmanuel Okvey believes that they still have a lot of work to do to prepare for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.

In the international friendly match held in Johannesburg on Thursday night, the East African heavyweight team led 1-0 and lost to South Africa 3-2.

Evidence from Makgopa (support) and Bongokuhle Hlongwane’s goals inspired Bafana Bafana to defeat Cranes by a narrow margin, who scored through Ibrahim Orit and Abdu Lumala.

Although thanking the team for ending the game without injury, the new captain who succeeded Dennis Onyango, who retired, admitted that more work needs to be done before the next international game.

“I thank God, we finished the game without any serious injuries,” Oakville told Fufa Online TV.

“I believe we have seen a lot of things to do in the next few months so that we can prepare for the World Cup qualifiers.

“But we have also adopted a positive attitude; we have seen so many outstanding players in the team, and we can build on this foundation to ensure that we are stronger in future tasks.”

Interim Crane Head Coach Abdallah Mubiru includes young players Abdul Kayondo, Bobosi Byaruhanga, Isma Mugulusi, Steven Sserwadda and Derrick Kakooza. These players are on the 23-man roster.

In the African Cup of Nations final held in Mauritania earlier this year, these five players were promoted to the senior team after the outstanding performance of the U20 national team.

The above-mentioned young people are expected to be part of the crane team that will participate in the World Cup qualifiers.

Uganda and Kenya, along with West African giants Mali and Rwanda, are placed in the qualifier E group, and the top teams will advance to the third round of the qualifier.

Uganda failed to enter the African Cup of Nations for the third consecutive time after finishing third in Group B. They only achieved two victories and two draws in six games, and the remaining two games ended in losses.