Uganda coach McKinstry readies squad for Kenya battle
Uganda coach Jonathan McKinstry says he will be in charge of the 2022 Fifa World Cup qualification matches come June.
The youthful trainer was suspended for a month in the wake of a string of average performances with local boy Abdalla Mubiru briefly assuming the role.
These changes failed to arrest the slump, as Uganda Cranes failed to qualify for a 24-team Africa Cup of Nations following losses to lowly Malawi and South Sudan.
With his suspension now lapsed, McKinstry has explained on his social media pages he is preparing to return to the dugout when Uganda faces Kenya in the opening match of the qualification campaign for the Qatar 2022 competition in Nairobi on June 5-8.
Besides this contest, Kenya’s Harambee Stars, now under the tutelage of Jacob ‘Ghost’ Mulee, will visit Rwanda a week later before engaging in back-to-back games against group favourites Mali in September, and then wind up the campaign with reverse fixtures against their East African neighbours in October.
“We dream to qualify for the World Cup. The fixture schedule is okay. We start at home and finish at home,” said Mulee, looking up after the disappointment of failing to qualify for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.
The winner of the group will advance to the final round of qualifiers, a two-leg home and away affair.
“We faltered in the 2021 Afcon qualifiers because we failed to win any match at home. We will target to win at least two matches at home this time round to stand a chance.”
Kenya finished third, behind Egypt and Comoros, in the Afcon qualifiers, thus missing the chance to play at the continental showpiece set for Cameroon next year.