By James Robert Kayindi
Uganda Cranes will face off with Togo in the preliminary round of the 2018 FIFA world Cup, Russia according to the draws that were conducted over the weekend.
Despite Uganda being excluded from the first round given its position in the FIFA Rankings by mid-July, 2015, many fans across the country are not excited about the Cranes draw that placed them against Togo in the second round.
“Togo beat us last year, home and away. (Uganda lost 1-0, both in Kampala and in Lome during the 2015 AFCON qualifiers). Despite losing to Guinea in the final game, Togo had already ruined our chances after beating us at Namboole,” a pessimistic fan expressed his opinion about the draw.
The aggregate winner after two legs will then advance to the group stages of the qualifiers where 20 teams will be seeded in five groups of four teams each.
First Round matches; 13 two-legged ties, play home and away, between 5 and 13 October 2015:
1. Somalia vs Niger
8. Eritrea vs Botswana
2. South Sudan vs Mauritania
9. Seychelles vs Burundi
3. Gambia vs Namibia
10. Liberia vs Guinea Bissau
4. Sao Tome vs Ethiopia
11. Central African Republic vs Madagascar
5. Chad vs Sierra Leone
12. Mauritius vs Kenya
6. Comoros vs Lesotho
13. Tanzania vs Malawi
7. Djibouti vs Swaziland
Second Round: The winners of the first round plus 27 highest-ranked teams in Africa. All 40 teams paired into 20 ties, play home and away, between 9 and 17 November 2015:
Winner 1 vs Cameroon
Winner 9 vs Democratic Republic of Congo
Winner 2 vs Tunisia
Winner 10 vs Ivory Coast
Winner 3 vs Guinea
Winner 11 vs Senegal
Winner 4 vs Congo Brazzaville
Winner 12 vs Cape Verde Islands
Winner 5 vs Egypt
Winner 13 vs Algeria
Winner 6 vs Ghana
Sudan vs Zambia
Winner 7 vs Nigeria
Libya vs Rwanda
Winner 8 vs Mali
Morocco vs Equatorial Guinea
Mozambique vs Gabon
Benin vs Burkina Faso
Togo vs Uganda
Angola vs South Africa
3rd round matches: 20 winners of the second round will be placed into five groups of four teams each. The teams will then face off home and away with the games expected to be played between 3 October 2016 and 14 November 2017.
A winner from each group will then qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
Email Robert: Robert.k.circles@gmail.com
