2018 WC Qualifier: Uganda won’t depend on history – Egypt

Egypt Coach Hector Cuper has warned against expecting an easy tie against Uganda Cranes depending on previous meetings.

The Pharaohs have an impregnable record against The Cranes and also won the most recent meeting, 1-0 in Gabon during the 2017 Africa Nations Cup.

However, Cuper says football evolves every time and expects a very different opposition in Uganda when the two teams meet in the back to back FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

“Whoever thinks that I could easily win the Uganda game for just beating them before has no idea what football is about,” the former Inter Milan boss stated as quoted by Ahram Sports.




“”Football continually changes. What happened in the past is in the past. Yes it is good, it gives the players motivation but every game is different from the other.

Cuper points at the change in the Uganda Cranes technical team as something they have to worry about although he indicated both teams know a lot about each other.

“They have a new coach now; he could be changing things in his team. Yes, we know a lot about the team but we should be ready as well for any changes during the game itself.

As we have a lot of information about them (Uganda), they also know a lot about us”.

A couple of foreign based players hadn’t arrived on Monday and the Argentine admitted that such an issue would cause him problems that he will try to overcome.

“I hope it would not affect us. Of course I’m not happy with them (foreign-based players) arriving late, as I hoped to have them taking part in more training sessions.

Such small details are so important, with many players arriving late, the rest of their teammates aren’t likely to retain their concentration. That concerns me.

We should always believe in ourselves and in our ability to overcome such problems.”

Egypt top Group E with six points from two games hosts Uganda just five days after playing at Namboole on Thursday August 31.

Seven-time African champions Egypt are eyeing their first World Cup appearance since last reaching the prestigious tournament in 1990 while second place Uganda want to reach the finals for the first time.