Uganda Cranes and the Black Stars of Ghana lock horns at Mandela National stadium, Namboole in a fixture that will determine their 2018 FIFA World Cup fate. The two teams need nothing but victory if they are to keep their chances of making it to Russia.

With 7 points and two adrift of leaders Egypt, Uganda must beat the Black Stars to go ahead of the Pharaohs who host Congo Brazzaville 24 hours later.

For Ghana, a win will see them leapfrog Uganda in second with 8 points but their chances will depend on Egypt losing to Congo Brazzaville in Alexandria. Moses Basena, the Uganda Cranes coach believes the 2-1 loss to Madagascar in a practice match on Wednesday showed him areas to rectify.

“The general performance was good only that those lapses when you don’t concentrate defensively teams at this level punish you,” said Basena in the aftermath of the loss to Madagascar. “When we didn’t defend very well on the right flank,” he said. On arrival from Kenya where the team had camped, Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah said they are here to play well.

“We are happy to have traveled well. We had a good training camp in Kenya and we are here to play well against Uganda.”