Kinshasa, January 14th, 2023 (CPA).-The Leopards A’ of DRC will be in the position of favourites in front of the local Ugandan Skulls, on Saturday, at 5:00 P.M. at the May 19th, 1956 stadium in Annaba in the opening match of group B of the 7th edition of the African Nations Championship (CHAN)-Algeria 2022. Twice Winner of the competition, DRC has real CHAN DNA. Indeed, of their last three participations, the local beasts have generally succeeded well in their entry with three victories to launch their campaign. Opposite, Uganda showed its limits in the tournament and lost 4 of its last 6 matches at CHAN. Uganda looks eye-catching and does not have the potential to bring down DRC and win even a half. Milutin Sredojevic’s men are more defensive than offensive because, having scored only one goal in two warm-up games. Coach Otis Ngoma’s men, on the other hand, scored three goals in two friendly outings. .The workforce is of good quality even if the preparation has been mixed. The Leopards were very convincing against Libya (3-1) before being beaten by Mali (0-1) with an eleven certainly reworked. Present in the last five editions of the competition, Uganda has shown remarkable consistency. Except that the Cranes find themselves faced with a glass ceiling with each time, elimination in the group stage. (1-1) against Cameroon then (0-0) against Mali. The preparation of the Ugandans, however, has shown that the men of « Micho » will not be easy to bring down, despite rumours of withdrawal for financial reasons.
In the history of the seven editions of CHAN, it is recalled, Uganda participated in the 2011 edition in Sudan, where they lost their three group matches, before recovering in 2014, despite being eliminated in 1st round, despite 4 points collected (1 success + 1 draw). The next two editions (2018, 2020) were less prolific for them, with two losses and one point respectively. DRC certainly has nothing to fear, but will have to be wary of this Ugandan team which seems very compact. Only the victory is worth for the Congolese who hope to have a psychological influence on their adversaries.
