Harambee Stars head to Conakry for Afcon qualifier against Guinea
Twenty-four-man Harambee Stars squad left the country last night for Guinea, where they will play the hosts in their second Group ‘D’ match of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers.
The match will be played on Thursday at the 25,000-capacity Stade 28 Septembre in Conakry from 4pm.
Yesterday, Football Kenya Federation Head of Projects and National Teams Athanus Obango said the squad flew to Addis Ababa before connecting to Conakry on an eight-hour flight. Upon arrival, the team will hold light training, then have a feel of the Stade 28 Septembre tomorrow.
“Everything is set for our match against Guinea and all the logistics are confirmed. The players ended the boycott over unpaid allowances and we believe the team will perform well in this game,” Obango, who is part of the delegation travelling to Guinea, said.
Kenya, who came from behind to rescue a 1-1 draw against lowly Eritrea at Nyayo Stadium on Saturday, faces tougher test against Guinea. Harambee Stars were wasteful and lacklustre against Eritrea, who are ranked 184th in the world, 77 places below Kenya, who lie 107th in Fifa rankings.
Kenya trained on Sunday and yesterday before travelling to Guinea. Coach Benni McCarthy had lamented that inadequate training occasioned by a go-slow by his players cost Kenya victory against Eritrea.
Now he faces a tougher opponents in Guinea, who are ranked 81st globally. They lost 2-1 to South Africa in Johannesburg on Saturday but their away goal could prove crucial in the event of a tie in the group.
Forward Seydouba Cisse, who plays for Saudi Arabian club Al Kholood, scored Guinea’s goal against South Africa and was a constant threat to the Bafana Bafana defence.
Borussia Dortmund striker Serhou Guirassy is expected to lead Guinea’s attack against Harambee Stars, alongside Aguibou Camara, Aliou Baldé, Mohamed Bangoura, Ousmane Camara, Abdoul Traoré, Yadaly Diaby and Lamine Diaby-Fadiga, all of whom play their club football outside Guinea.
Guinea’s coach Paulo Duarte has left out several experienced players who have featured for the team in previous continental competitions. They include Naby Keïta, Mohamed Mady Camara, Cheick Oumar Condé, Dembo Sylla, Morgan Guilavogui, Issiaga Sylla and Mohamed Bayo.
Guinea have appeared at 14 Afcon finals and reached the quarter-finals of the 2023 edition, where they lost 3-1 to DR Congo. They failed to qualify for the 2025 tournament and are now seeking a return to the continental showpiece.
Kenya and Guinea have met eight times, all in the Fifa World Cup qualifiers. Whenever they net, either side has always won at home. Guinea beat Kenya 4-0 when the two countries met for the first time on December 20, 1992 in 1994 Fifa World Cup qualifier. Kenya won the return leg 2-0 on February 27, 1993.
On November 10 1996, Guinea beat Kenya 3-1 in a 1998 Fifa World Cup qualifier match in Guinea. Kenya won the reverse fixture 1-0 on April 27, 1997. Kenya beat Guinea 2-1 again on November 17, 2004 in the 2006 World Cup qualifier at home. Guinea won the second leg 1-0 away on June 5, 2005.
The same trend continued as Kenya beat Guinea 2-1 at home on June 7, 2008 in the 2010 Fifa World Cup qualifier. The West African side narrowly edged out Harambee Stars 3-2 away on October 12, 2008.
With only one team from Group D guaranteed automatic qualification alongside hosts Kenya, the west African nation faces a tight battle for the top position against South Africa and Eritrea.
A defeat or draw against Kenya would further complicate Guinea’s qualification hopes, particularly if South Africa beat Eritrea. Bafana Bafana currently have three points, while Kenya and Eritrea have a point each.
“Our objective is to qualify for Afcon. There are different options in terms of going through qualification. But I feel the way that the draw was made by CAF is not right, it is not fair because only one team is qualifying,” Duarte told local media last week.
For Kenya, a defeat in Conakry would increase pressure on coach Benni McCarthy, whose appointment had raised hopes that Harambee Stars could revive their fortunes and return to the Afcon finals.
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