Uganda Cranes coach Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic has said he will pick eight youthful players from the CHAN squad to boost the senior team ahead of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers (AFCON).
Last week the Confederation of African Football (CAF) placed Uganda among the 30 nations that will have to battle through the preliminary rounds to get a place in the group stages. The preliminary round will be played between May and August.
“I have already identified eight players who I will invite to the senior team, including striker Junior Yunus Sentamu,” said Micho, who refused to reveal the other players.
Micho told MTNFootball.com that after closely working with the CHAN squad for over four months now, and having them play many games, he knows which players can benefit and fit into the senior team.
“I identified two players from the 2013 CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup and will also add on the eight from CHAN,” explained the coach.
Uganda bowed out of the CHAN competition in the group stage after beating Burkina Faso 2-1, drawing goalless with Zimbabwe and falling 3-1 to Morocco.
The 19-year-old Sentamu scored all the three goals for the Cranes, who were making their second appearance in the CHAN competition.
The coach also called for early preparations ahead of the preliminary round of the AFCON qualifiers.
“I was shocked with the new format of qualification, which placed us in the preliminary round. But now I think if we can go through the preliminary it will give our players most playing time in the legs as we head into the group stages,” reasoned Micho.
The Cranes, who came close to qualifying for the previous two Editions of the tournament, last appeared in the 1978 Africa Cup of Nations where they lost to hosts Ghana in the final.
Source: MTNFootball
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