Harambee Stars tackle Mali in must-win match
Harambee Stars players attend a training session at Nyayo National Stadium on October 9, 2021 on the eve of their 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifying match against Mali.
What you need to know:
- Coach Firat apologises again and promises to make it up to Kenyan football fans
- With the odds stacked against Kenya, they face an uphill task of undoing a 5-0 first leg drubbing
Under fire Harambee Stars coach Engin Firat has promised Kenyans a better performance in today’s return leg of Group “E”, 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifiers against Mali at Nyayo National Stadium.
Stars head into this must-win fixture in high spirits, following gaming firm Mozzart Bet’s Sh3 million sponsorship of the national team’s three remaining matches in the pool.
The partnership was unveiled yesterday at Nyayo Stadium by Football Kenya Federation (FKF) President Nick Mwendwa and Mozzart Bet General Manager Sasa Kreneta.
Mali thumped Kenya 5-0 at Stade Adrar in Agadir, Morocco last Thursday, and the hosts must win the return leg that starts at 4pm behind closed doors, to salvage some pride and revive their hopes of being in Qatar next year for the global championships.
The match was Firat’s first since September 19 when FKF unveiled him as Stars’ new coach on a two-month contract.
He took over from Jacob “Ghost” Mulee.
Addressing the press yesterday at Nyayo, a furious Firat again apoligised to Kenya for the Stars’ underwhelming performance in Mali, saying he takes “full blame.”
He said that unlike in Morocco, he now knows the team well and that they will thus register a better performance in Nairobi.
“I want to apologise for our performance against Mali. Of course for me it was a very tough start, but on the other side I got a good lesson with the team on all the things that I did not know,” said the Turkish who had made a similar apology immediately after the loss.
“It is my fault and I have no excuse. But like I said, I do not want to make mistakes two times. We have made our analysis, talked with the players and for sure you will see a different team against Mali here at home.”
At Stade Adrar in Agadir, Stars were woeful in all areas in a match where Firat shocked many by deploying several players in new areas.
For instance, central defender Joash “Berlin Wall” Onyango was deployed on the right –back while striker Henry Meja was deployed on the flank.
The Les Aigles attacker Adama Traore was a thorn in the flesh for Stars, netting the opener early before Ibrahima Kone struck a first-half hat trick. Goalkeeper Farouk Shikalo who replaced by Ian Otieno at the restart scored in his own net to seal the host’s huge win.
The loss left Kenya with a huge mountain to climb in clinching a ticket to Qatar, as they currently sit third with two points, five behind leaders Mali who are unbeaten in three matches.
Uganda are second with five points while Rwanda are last on one point.
Firat, who disclosed that he will make a number of changes in today’s squad from the one that did duty in Morocco, did not shy away from pouring his anger over the sharp criticism he has received following Stars defeat to Mali.
“..But there are some things here which I don’t like…We have some people who are talking all the time about my record with Moldova. So you put one part of my career to the side and forget all the other ones. All is gone? Posed a furious Firat. With the Moldova national team, Firat took charge of 11 matches, losing nine and drawing two.
In another Group “E” match slated for today, The Cranes of Uganda welcome Rwanda’s Amavubi Stars at St Mary Stadium in Kampala.
Uganda beat Rwanda 1-0 in the first leg.
