Uganda coach Micho says Senegal friendly very vital

Uganda coach Milutin 'Micho" Sredojevic says his side's international friendly against Senegal will be very vital to his preparations for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

The Cranes will face the Terenga Lions on June 6 in Dakar, before they travel for an away game against Cape Verde a few days later.

Speaking to URN last Friday, Sredojevic said facing a high-profile team like Senegal will give them the best preparation before taking on Cape Verde.

"It is important that we prepare well ahead of the first game in the 2019 Afcon qualifiers," added the Serbian-born coach.

The last time these two teams faced off was a 2014 World Cup play-off qualifier in Marakesh, Morocco, when Senegal won 1-0.

But this time round, the Senegal team will miss their key player Sadio Mane, who got injured while featuring for English Premiership side Liverpool.

Senegal were eliminated by eventual champions Cameroon at the quarter final stage of the 2017 Afcon, while Uganda Cranes failed to make it out of the group that had Egypt, Ghana and Mali.

Sredojevic explained to URN that they are determined to start well in the qualifiers because they are hungry to qualify for 2019 Afcon as well.

The Cranes are drawn in group L with Cape Verde, Tanzania and Lesotho.