Onyango rallies Harambee Stars for Togo clash

Harambee Stars defender Joash "Berlin Wall" Onyango has urged his teammates to fight for a win against Togo in their last match of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers on Monday.

The match kicks off at 7pm at Stade de Kegue behind closed doors as a way of curbing the spread of coronavirus pandemic.  

Stars and the Sparrow Hawks of Togo will be fighting for a third-place finish in Group "G" as both teams are already out of the continental showpiece.

Leaders Egypt and Comoros, level on nine points, have already booked a ticket to Cameroon for next year's finals with the Pharaohs boasting a better goal difference. The two sides clash on Monday in Cairo to decide who wins the group. 

Harambee Stars and Togo are third and fourth respectively on four and two points respectively but a win for Togo will see them leapfrog coach Jacob "Ghost" Mulee's charges.

Onyango however feels they were superb in 1-1 draw against Egypt and all that effort would go down the drain if they finish bottom of the group.

“We have to fight and win this game not only to emerge with the bragging rights but also to finish third. It has been a tough fight and missing out was not good. We now have to win to prove that our performance against Egypt was not by mere luck,” Onyango told Nation Sport on phone from Lome.

Onyango was one of the players who starred in the Egypt game as he outshone Liverpool star forward Mohamed Salah. 

“Of course we have other competitions coming up and our performance against Togo will be an indicator of how our team is improving. Winning against Togo who have been football giants in this region will also improve our ranking,” added the 28-year-old defender.

The 23-man Harambee Stars squad Sunday held their last training session at Stade de Kegue after arriving in Togo on Saturday evening. This is after they underwent mandatory coronavirus test as required by Confederation of African Football and the government of Togo.  

Kenya will miss the services of Kenneth Muguna who is out due to a knee injury while Anthony Akumu opted out due to personal reasons. Wazito defender Johnstone Omurwa is suspended after he was red-carded in Egypt's duel.

Squad

Goalkeepers

Ian Otieno, James Saruni, Joseph Okoth.

Defenders

Daniel Sakari, Eric Ouma, Clyde Senaji, Joash Onyango, Nahashon Alembi, Baraka Badi, Harun Mwale.

Midfielders

Duke Abuya, Cliff Nyakeya, Lawrence Juma, Kevin Simiyu, Duncan Otieno, James Mazembe, David Owino, Kevin Kimani, Abdallah Hassan, Clifton Miheso.

Forwards

Masud Juma, Michael Olunga, and Elvis Rupia.