Uganda Cranes captain Denis Onyango has called upon his teammates to play as a group if the team is make it past the group stages of the Afcon finals in Egypt.
The 2019 edition will kick off on Friday but the Cranes, back for the continental showpiece after a dismal showing in 2017, open their campaign on Saturday against neighbours DR Congo before taking on other Group A opponents Zimbabwe and hosts Egypt.
The game will be played at the Cairo International Stadium.
According to Onyango, the team has camped for a long time in Abu Dhabi and virtually all the players know each other well, according to a statement on fufa.co.ug.
“Football is a team sport. You cannot win a game when you are playing individual football. Against DR Congo, we need that first victory because it always pushes us further. Our goal is to go past the group stages,” noted Onyango during a press conference on Wednesday, also addressed by head coach Sebastien Desabre.
“We shall need to work as a complete team. To get as far as we can, we need to get the best use of the team quality.”
On his part Desabre was equal to the task as he boldly underlined the team’s aspirations.
‘We are ready to compete. The players are ready to give the maximum. We have good organisation, cohesion and quality in the team basing on values of working together. Each player has a task to play together, Desabre noted.
“As a complete unit we shall achieve a lot. The spirit is good enough.”
The team will on Friday hold a final training session (open to the media for the first 15 minutes) before the match on Saturday.
The 2019 AFCON will be Uganda Cranes’ seventh time of participation.
