With the weight and hopes of 45 million people on their shoulders, the Uganda Cranes will be facing the Nigeria Super Eagles in a must-win final pool game.

The game will be kicking off at 17:00 local time (19:00 EAT) at the Fez Stadium.

Currently, the Cranes sit fourth in pool C with a single point, (coming from the draw against Tanzania in their previous game).

A lot fans back at home are optimistic about the Cranes chances of making it to the next stage but a lot of pieces have to fall in place.

To have a chance at advancing to the next stage (round of 16), the Cranes must win their game.

Realistically, it will be hard for Uganda to finish in the top 2 (in their pool) but they can finish among the top 4 third place teams.

If Uganda wins, they go to 4 points. That means,they have to hope for Tunisia to either win or draw their game against Tanzania.

If this happens, Uganda will have secured their spot in the round of 16 ahead of Comoros and Angola, who are the other third placed teams but have just 2 points.

In the last 3 games against Nigeria, Uganda in unbeaten win 2 wins and 1 loss. This means that there is a lot of hope given that the team has been able to take care of Nigeria in the past few games.

Uganda Cranes Head Coach Paul Put and defender Jordan Obita spoke to the media ahead of the clash.

“We know [that] we need to get the win. We cannot go into the game with any fear. We have to go into the game with full belief and that’s what we are going to do.” Jordan Obita on the players mind-set ahead of the game.

“The players have been getting confidence because they played a very good game [against Tanzania] unfortunately we couldn’t win but it give you a good feeling. To face Nigeria, you have to come out on the field with a good feeling and be confident.” Uganda’s Head Coach Paul Put on the players ahead of the clash against Nigeria.

If Uganda does not win, this will be their sixth time exiting the AFCON without registering a victory. This was the case in 1962, 1968, 1974, 1976, and 2017.

If the Cranes make it to the round of 16, this will be their third time making it past the group stages at the AFCON. The other two times came in 2019 (eliminated at round of 16) and 1978 (where Uganda reached the final).