Moment of truth for Harambee Stars as Salah and Egypt lie in wait

It is a do-or-die for Harambee Stars when they take on Pharaohs of Egypt in a 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) Group G qualifier at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani on Thursday.

The must-win match for Harambee Stars will be held behind closed doors in Nairobi from 7pm.

The meeting will be the 23rd in history between the two sides, and for Stars, apart from fighting to keep alive their slim hopes of qualifying for the the 2021 Afcon, they will also be seeking to bring to an end the dominance the Pharaohs have had over them.

Stars chances of making another appearance in the continental showpiece, which will be staged next year Cameroon from January 9 to February 6 are slim, as they lie third in the pool with three points, five behind leaders Egypt and Comoros.

To qualify for the tournament, Jacob “Ghost” Mulee’s side must beat Egypt and Togo away in Lome on Monday, and hope that the Pharaohs or Comoros lose all their remaining matches.

Kenya, under Francis Kimanzi, battled to a 1-1 draw with Egypt in their opening match of the qualifiers away.

And despite missing the services of a number of experienced players, coach Mulee is confident that his charges can upset the star-studded Pharaohs, to take their qualification battle to the wire.

“There is no doubt that it is a good team. There is always a dream and of course we are dreaming. The story is not about Kenya losing to Egypt but beating them. We are prepared to see that we can get the best from the match,” said Mulee.

He regretted missing the services of Kariobangi Sharks’ hitman Erick Kapaito, and defender Joseph Okumu (IF Elfsborg, Sweden) due to late injuries, but noted that there are able replacements in the team.

With Kapaito out of the 28-man squad, Mulee’s options in striking are Michael Olunga (Al-Duhail, Oatar), Masud Juma (Difaa Hasasani El Hassani El Jadidi, Morocco) and Elvis Rupia (AFC Leopards).

Olunga will captain the team in the two matches since Montreal Impact's Victor Wanyama is not in the squad. Mulee also gave a last minute call to Gor Mahia’s winger Clifton Miheso on Tuesday.

In place of Okumu, Mulee is likely to field Wazito’s Johnstone Omurwa to partner with Simba’s Joash Onyango in central defence.

Omurwa was the only player who started for Harambee Stars in the two friendly matches against South Sudan and Tanzania in Nairobi, where Kenya won 1-0 and 2-1 respectively last week. “We have a top defender in Central and East Africa. I think Joash has proven that he is a force to reckon with. He is going to pair up with one of the young defenders in the team. It is kind of a new central defence for us,” he said.

Onyango reckoned that he has a huge responsibility of keeping the English Premier League (EPL) top scorer Mohamed Salah on check. Salah, who turns out for Liverpool, leads the EPL scorer’s chart with 17 goals.

"Salah is a big name, he is doing well at Liverpool. For me, it will be a good opportunity to gauge myself against him and know where I rank. It will be a tough match but you should expect good results from us," said Onyango.

Mohamed Elneny (Arsenal) and Mahmud Trezeguet (Aston Villa) are part of the Egypt’s squad, who will on Wednesday evening have a feel of the match venue.

Should Harambee Stars pull a surprise against the Pharaohs on Thursday, it will be the second time in history that they are beating the North Africans.

Kenya’s only win over Egypt was a 3-1 victory in the 1979 Africa Nations Cup qualifiers held in Nairobi.

The 1-1 draw in the first leg of the 2021 Afcon qualifiers hosted by Egypt on November 14 was the fourth between the two sides in the 23 meetings.

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