Harambee Stars eye win against Namibia in 2025 Afcon qualifier
Harambee Stars midfielder Austin Odhiambo (right) takes on Zimbabwe Warriors’ Tewanda Jethro during their 2025 Africa Cup of Nation Group “J” qualifier at Namboole Stadium in Kampala, Uganda on September 6, 2024.
What you need to know:
- The two teams last met on September 8, 2013, in a Fifa 2014 World Cup qualifier, with hosts Kenya winning by a solitary goal.
- Firat is not only under pressure to guide the team to victory against the Southern African nation but also to improve their display.
- In the match against Zimbabwe, Firat opted to field midfielders instead of natural strikers in the attack.
Kenya’s Harambee Stars will on Tuesday be keen to get their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifying campaign back on track with a win against 'hosts' Namibia at the Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The Group “J” match will kick off at 7pm (Kenyan time). At the same time at Mandela National Stadium in Kampala, Zimbabwe will host group leaders Cameroon.
Like Kenya and Zimbabwe, Namibia are hosting their matches in other countries because it lacks a venue at home that meets Fifa and Caf standards for hosting international football matches.
Against Zimbabwe at Mandela National Stadium on Friday, 'hosts' Kenya, coached by Engin Firat, were lucky to escape with a barren draw after they put up a below-par performance.
Five-time champions Cameroon top the pool with three points, thanks to their 1-0 home win over Namibia at Stade Omnisports Roumdé Adjia in Garoua on Saturday.
Kenya and Zimbabwe follow in that order with one point each, while Namibia are bottom with zero points.The top two teams in the 12 qualifying pools will clinch their spots in next year's finals in Morocco.
Namibia heads into the clash with Harambee Stars as favourites since they lie 10 places above Kenya in the Fifa rankings, and have won more matches against them. The Southern African nation are 98th, while Kenya are placed 108th.
Kenya and Namibia have met six times, with the Southern African nation winning four times. Kenya has beaten Namibia twice.
It remains to be seen if the match at Orlando Stadium will be low-scoring like the previous six meetings.
Save for Namibia’s 2-1 win over Kenya on May 31, 2008, in a World Cup cum Afcon qualifier, all the other five meetings have ended in a solitary goal win. Kenya have never beaten Namibia away.
The two teams last met on September 8, 2013, in a Fifa 2014 World Cup qualifier, with hosts Kenya winning by a solitary goal.
Firat is not only under pressure to guide the team to victory against the Southern African nation but also to improve their display.
In the match against Zimbabwe, Firat opted to field midfielders instead of natural strikers in the attack.
As a result, Kenya’s attack did not threaten Zimbabwe at any given time. The 54-year-old Turk will still be without captain Michael Olunga and defenders Alphonce Omija due to injuries, while left-back Erick "Marcelo" is doubtful.
Omija was replaced in the early stages of the first half of their match against Zimbabwe, while Ouma was withdrawn late in the second half.
Harambee Stars have pitched camp in Johannesburg since Saturday.
