Starlets play Cameroon in do-or-die match at Nyayo
Kenya's forward Mwanahalima Adam (right) attempts to dribble past Cameroon's Miriane Ines during their 2024 Africa Cup of Nations first round, first leg qualification match in Douala, Cameroon on September 22, 2023.
What you need to know:
- Starlets, under coach Beldine Odemba, lost 1-0 in the first leg match played on Friday in Douala, Cameroon
- The narrow loss at Stade De Réunification de Douala means Kenya must beat Cameroon by a two-goal margin, or win 1-0 so as to go straight to penalties and prevail
- The last time the two teams met in Wafcon qualifiers in 2006, Kenya lost by an aggregate of 9-0
Kenya women’s football team Harambee Starlets hosts Indomitable Lionesses of Cameroon in a return leg match in the first round of the 2024 Women Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) qualifiers Tuesday afternoon at Nyayo National Stadium from 3pm, seeking to overturn a first leg loss and to sail to the next round.
Starlets, under coach Beldine Odemba, lost 1-0 in the first leg match played on Friday in Douala, Cameroon. Eliane Mambalamo scored the lone goal in the ninth minute of the match.
The narrow loss at Stade De Réunification de Douala means Kenya must beat Cameroon by a two-goal margin, or win 1-0 so as to go straight to penalties and prevail.
“The mood in camp is very high because the girls have been pushing themselves in training. We can recover from the slim loss because all is not lost. We are ready to fight again,” coach Odemba told Nation Sport on Monday.
Asked what let her team down in Douala, Odemba said: “We played according to our game plan but sometimes fear, playing away from home, absence of the 13th player on the pitch and lack of experience on the big stage made the girls take long to get back into the game,” said Odemba.
The last time the two teams met in Wafcon qualifiers in 2006, Kenya lost by an aggregate of 9-0. Starlets lost 5-0 at home, and fell 4-0 away.
The aggregate winner of the first round contest between Kenya and Cameroon will face the winner of the clash between Gabon and Botswana. On Friday last week, Botswana beat Gabon 4-1 away to keep their hopes of qualifying high.
Starlets jetted back to the country on Sunday night, alongside a group of Cameroonian players. The second batch of the Cameroonian contingent landed in Kenya Monday at noon. Both teams held their last training at the Nyayo National Stadium on Monday.
Football Kenya Federation has said fans will be allowed into the stadium free of charge.
Maria Packuita Cynquela from Mauritius will be the center referee, with Windy Rhambhoro (Mauritius) and Bernadettar Asimenye (Malawi) will be first and second assistant referees, respectively.
