Seychelles coach Ralph Jean-Louis has lauded the new Fifa World Cup qualification for giving footballers from Island nations in Africa and other low-ranked countries more exposure.
Both teams were approaching the match after suffering defeats in their World Cup qualifier matches last week. Seychelles lost 4-0 at home to Gabon on Thursday, while Harambee Stars succumbed to a 3-1 loss to The Gambia at Kasarani on Friday.
Seychelles hosted their match against Gabon in Mauritius. They have been hosting their home matches in neutral locations due to the lack of a CAF-approved stadium in their country.
Harambee Stars won the match 2-1 and have gone ahead to win four of their subsequent six matches against The Pirates, including Tuesday’s win. A friendly match played in June 1998 in Nairobi ended in a draw, marking the only occasion Seychelles avoided defeat against Kenya.
Kenya defeated the North Africans 3-1 at home before losing 1-0 away in a match in which Harambee Stars had two players sent off.
“We started our preparations for this match (Tuesday’s) two days after arriving in the country. We have been treated well, and every player in the squad is fit and healthy. We hope for a good result tomorrow,” Louis said.
Louis was accompanied to the press conference by the team’s 25-year-old captain, Dean Mothé. Mothé, who was voted the Seychelles footballer of the year in 2024, had teased about giving a good performance against tomorrow. “We expect a tough match tomorrow, but we are ready. People should come to the stadium to see what we can do,” he said on Monday.
In 2021, when he was 14 years old, he made history by becoming the youngest ever African player to score a goal in an international match during Seychelles' 8-1 loss to Burundi in a friendly tournament played in Comoros.
