The Road to the 2026 FIFA World Cup will begin in the Group G when Guinea take on the Cranes of Uganda in the opening games at the Stade Municipal de Berkane on Friday.
The battle for a slot from the Group will be intensified as the two countries bid for a maiden appearance at the FIFA World Cup to be staged in United States of America (USA), Canada and Mexico.
Match Preview
The Guineans are hosting their Ugandan counterparts after a disappointing 1-1 draw with Gabon in the October's international friendlies.
In-form Stuttgart attacker Serhou Guirassy found the back of the net once again to hand the Syli National a 36th-minute lead but Aaron-Salem Boupendza restored parity from the penalty spot two minutes after the hour mark.
The West African nations remains unbeaten in their last three matches, picking up one win and two draws, including a 2-2 stalemate against Malawi in their final Africa Cup of Nations qualifying game on September 9.
Kaba Diawara's men secured a second-placed finish in Group D, picking up 10 points from six matches, to secure a third consecutive AFCON appearance since missing out in 2017.
They will be backing themselves to pick up a dream start to the World Cup qualifiers on Thursday as they take on an opposing side against whom they are unbeaten in five of their last seven encounters, claiming three wins and two draws since November 2014.
Meanwhile, Uganda succumbed to a second consecutive friendly defeat as they were beaten 3-0 by Zambia at the Al Hamriya Sports Club Stadium on October 17.
Having suffered a 1-0 loss to Mali four days earlier, the Cranes failed to find their feet as a brace from Leicester City man Patson Daka and Fashion Sakala's 63rd-minute strike inspired Zambia to a comfortable victory.
Uganda failed to book a place in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations when they ended their qualifying campaign with a 2-0 victory over Niger at the Stade de Marrakech.
They finished third in Group Group F with seven points and fail to clinch a spot in the continental tournament for the first time since 2019.
Uganda head into Friday's group curtain-raiser on a run of four defeats in their last five matches across all competitions, conceding seven goals and keeping just one clean sheet since March.
However, they are unbeaten in each of their five competitive away matches since August 2022, claiming four wins and one draw, and will be backing themselves to extend this impressive run as they look to begin their hunt for a first World Cup appearance on the right path.
Team News
With the return of Liverpool star Naby Keita, who has been out of the national team due to injuries since their 4-1 defeat to four-time World Champions Brazil in June .
Guinea will also be counting on VfB Stuttgart attacker Serhou Guirassy to lead the upfront with RC Lens' forward Morgan Guilavogui and Le Havre's Mohamed Bayo.
Guirassy has emerged as one of the top strikers in European football this season, notching up 15 goals in nine appearances for Stuttgart, who are currently third on the German Bundesliga log.
Uganda have named an experienced 26-man squad for November's qualifying games against Guinea and Somalia, including the SC Villa trio of Kenneth Semakula, Gavin Kizito Mugweri and Umaru Lutalo.
While the core group of the players are based in the Ugandan top flight, Austin FC's Bobosi Byaruhanga is one of the foreign-based players named in the squad, alongside Joseph Kizito Luwagga, Leganes' Ibrahim Juma and Motherwell defender Bevis Kristofer Mugabi.
Kick-off Time
The game is scheduled to start at 13:00 GMT (1:00PM)
Prediction
Guinea 2-0 Uganda
