Comoros coach Amir Abdou has named a strong 23-man squad for their upcoming back to back 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers against Harambee Stars.
Thirty-one--year old Red Star Belgrade striker, Ben Al Fardou, headlines the squad made up mainly of foreign-based players.
Comoros lead Group G with four points after two matches and Abdou, who took over the team in 2014, is confident the team will qualify for next year's showpiece in Cameroon.
“This is my third qualifying campaign and we’re getting better all the time. We got three points the first time, five the second, and now we’re aiming for qualification. We’re not going to deny it. I’m not saying that opposition teams are scared of us, but I do think they’re wary of us now. And as the results we got against Togo (1-0) and Egypt (0-0) show, we’ve got good reason to hope," he said in a recent interview with Fifa.
There are no star names in the Comoros national team, with most of its members playing in lower divisions in Europe’s top leagues. The only one with any experience of European club competition is forward El Fardou Ben Nabouhane, who plays for Serbia’s Red Star Belgrade, but Abdou says this is does not worry him at all.
“You don’t need to have amazing players. If you’ve got a healthy and a hard-working group of players and you don’t have any problems with egos, then you can get the same results as any dream team,” Abdou is quoted as saying by the Fifa portal.
“If you look at our performances, and with the exception of the 3-0 defeat to Cameroon in the qualifiers for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, we’ve always given as good as we’ve got against the teams we’ve faced. We’ve lost a few games but we’ve made life difficult for all of them. We play to our strengths: discipline, organisation and a fantastic team spirit," he added.
Comoros face Kenya in Nairobi on November 11 with the return leg set to be hosted in Moroni four days later.
Goalkeepers: Salim Ben Boina (FC Martigues), Ali Ahamada (SK Brann)
Defenders: Kassim Abdallah (Athletico Marseille), Abdallah Ahmed Mohammed (SV Zulte Waregem), Chaker Alhadhur (Chateaurox), Ahmed Soilihi (Quievily Rouen), Nadjim Abdou (FC Martigues), Kassim Mdahoma (Lyon SC), Bendjaloud Youssouf (Le Mans)
Midfielders: Youssuf Mchangama (EA Guigamp), Rafidine Abdullah (Stade Lausanne Ouchy), Ibrahim Madi (Martigues), Yacine Bourhane (Niort), Nasser Chamad (Gaz Metan), Mohamed Youssef (AC Ajaccio), Said Bakari (RKC Waalwjik)
Forwards: Faiz Selemani (KV Courtrai), Ibroihim Youssuf (Club Volcano), Nakibou Aboubakari (Stade Briochin), Ali Mmadi (Tours FC), Ahmed Mogni (FC Annecy), Faiz Mattoir (AC Ajaccio), El Fardou Ben Mohamed (Red Star Belgrade)
