Cranes Boss Issues Defiant Message Ahead of Must-Win Group C Clash in Fez.

Paul Put

Uganda head coach Paul Put has sent a bold warning to Nigeria’s Super Eagles ahead of their decisive AFCON 2025 Group C encounter on Tuesday, December 30, in Fes, Morocco, insisting that “in football, anything is possible.”

The Belgian tactician, who coached Burkina Faso to the 2013 AFCON final (where they lost to Nigeria), acknowledged the Super Eagles’ quality but stressed his team’s determination in a do-or-die fixture.

Put told reporters in Fes: “We know we are facing a very good team who were finalists at the last AFCON edition, they have a strong team. But we know what we have to do if we want to go through, we have to get a good result because we don’t have any other solution. We will give our best for tomorrow’s game, it’s going to be hard, it’s going to be difficult but in football anything is possible.”

He drew positives from Uganda’s recent performances: “They played a very good game against Tanzania but unfortunately we couldn’t win. But I think it always gives you a good feeling especially when you want to face a team like Nigeria and be confident because if you are not confident then it becomes complicated.”

Put also highlighted the need for focus against Nigeria’s European-based stars: “We know the individual qualities of the Nigerian players which is high level, they play in high level competitions in Europe. We have analysed them and know their strength so we have to be very concentrated, we have to be aware of things and be prepared, fight to win the duels which will be very important because this is the strong point of Nigeria.”

Nigeria have already topped Group C with six points and are likely to rotate, while Uganda (one point from a draw and a loss) require a victory, and favorable results elsewhere, to sneak into the Round of 16 as one of the best third-placed teams.

Historically, Uganda hold the edge in head-to-heads (4 wins, 1 draw, 2 losses), including a 2-1 victory in the 1978 AFCON semi-finals, their only previous tournament meeting.

With the group stage concluding, expect a fierce battle as the Cranes fight for survival. Anything is possible indeed. 🇺🇬 vs 🇳🇬