Uganda's Cranes rebound plan after a 3-1 AFCON setback to Tunisia

Uganda's AFCON opener ends in a 3-1 setback against Tunisia

Belgian coach Paul Put, Uganda's head coach, expressed disappointment after the 3-1 defeat to the Carthage Eagles on Tuesday evening, insisting his side did not show the required bite in the opening match of their continental campaign.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, according to the official CAF site, he said: "We gave Tunisia far too much respect on the pitch, and we know their strength and set-piece quality well. It's a bad start for us, and I believe we were not aggressive enough; if you want to compete in the Africa Cup of Nations, you must win first contact duels and battles."

The Uganda coach nicknamed The Cranes added: "We controlled play for about 25 minutes, but the rest of the game we spent defending; that simply isn't enough in a tournament as big as AFCON."

On the group-stage qualification picture, Put said: "We know exactly what we must do in the next game. We'll be under heavy pressure because a draw won't be enough. We now desperately need a win to place ourselves in a position to contend for second or third."

He closed with a note of optimism: "We will analyze this match in depth to identify our errors and what we can improve. I truly believe in our ability to come back and turn things around."

Punchline 1: If patience were a sport, Uganda would be world champions by now.

Punchline 2: In football as in comedy, timing is everything—Uganda still has 90 minutes of it up their sleeve.