Mountain to climb for Harambee Stars after heavy loss

Kenya’s national football team, Harambee Stars,  faces an uphill task in qualifying for the Fifa 2022 World Cup after losing 5-0 to Mali on Thursday night in a Group ‘E’ qualifying rmatch.

The match was played behind closed doors at the Stade Adrar in Agadir, Morocco, to guard against a possible spread of Covid-19 .

Mali hosted the game in Morocco because none of the country’s stadiums were approved  by Fifa and Caf to host international matches.

It was Kenya’s biggest loss in football since Nick Mwendwa took over as Football Kenya Federation President in 2016, riding on the promise of change.

Defeat to Mali leaves Kenya’s dreams of reaching next stage of the qualifiers - play-offs involving all group winners - hanging by a thread.

It raises questions about the dwindling standards of Kenyan football, coming after Kenya failed to qualify for the 2022 African Cup of Nations tournament which will be held in Cameroon early next year.

In Morocco on Thursday, 22-year-old Ibrahima Kone struck a first-half hat-trick after Adama Traore’s opener had given Mali the lead in the first half. Mali’s Moussa Doumbia scored a goal late in the match to heap more misery on Harambee Stars.

Kenya's defence was in shambles as Mali toyed with the ball at will, commanding all departments and dictating the game.

Kenya’s Turkish, coach Engin Firat, who was employed on a two-month contract, shocked many when he opted to field defender Joash Onyango at right back instead of his preferred centre-back position.

In attack, skipper Michael Olunga was outmuscled and it appeared Firat would have been better off playing him in attack with FKF Premier League Youngest Player of the Year Award winner Henry Meja instead of playing the youngster on the flanks.

Following the defeat, Kenya have now dropped to third in Group ‘E’ on two points the team collected following a barren draw against Uganda on September 2, and a 1-1 stalemate against Rwanda on September 5.

Mali lead the group on seven points, followed by Uganda Cranes on five points. The Cranes got a crucial 1-0 away win against Rwanda on Thursday evening. Rwanda sit at the bottom of the group on one point.

Kenya hosts Mali on Sunday at the Nyayo National Stadium, while Uganda will on the same day play Rwanda at the St Mary’s Kitende Stadium in Kampala.

Kenya must win on Sunday to rekindle hope of advancing from the group as it seeks to qualify for the Fifa World Cup for the first time in history.

Firat still faces a tough task in November when Kenya hosts Rwanda and plays away to Uganda in the last round of the qualifiers.

The team arrived back home quietly Friday afternoon, with FKF issuing no communication as has been the norm in the previous encounters.

“We will issue an update on Sunday’s match during the pre-match conference on Saturday (today).  About the game against Mali, we have no communication to pass through. The main issue however is that the team is back and will be preparing for Sunday’s game,” FKF’s Head of Communication Pharis Kimaru said.