Chui face Egypt test in African tourney

Kenya men's hockey team players celebrate after they beat Namibia 4-1 on January 19, 2021 in the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations in Accra, Ghana.

Photo credit: Pool

What you need to know:

  • Chui, who were in pool 'A', qualified for the semi-finals after beating Namibia 4-1 before losing 2-1 to South Africa to finish second in the group
  • Egypt on another hand finished top of Pool 'B' unbeaten after thrashing Nigeria 4-1, edging out Ghana 1-0 and 3-1 win over Uganda
  • Egypt, who finished second in the 2017 event as hosts, have a good record against the East Africans

Kenya men's hockey team will take on Egypt in one of the semi-finals of Africa Cup of Nations at Theodosia Ukoh Hockey Stadium in Accra, Ghana on Saturday.

Champions South Africa battle Nigeria in the other semi-final.

Chui, who were in pool 'A', qualified for the semi-finals after beating Namibia 4-1 before losing 2-1 to South Africa to finish second in the group.

Egypt on another hand finished top of Pool 'B' unbeaten after thrashing Nigeria 4-1, edging out Ghana 1-0 and 3-1 win over Uganda.

Kenya assistant coach Michael Malungu said they have watched the North Africans previous videos and have an idea of how they play.

"We have had time to watch them play. We have also played them previously and they are tactical but we will give our all when we face them. We are in the building phase and we want to learn and expose our players," said Malungu who doubles up as Western Jaguars men's coach.

Egypt, who finished second in the 2017 event as hosts, have a good record against the East Africans.

They beat Kenya 4-1 in the previous edition in Ismaili and emerged 3-2 victors in the 2013 edition held at City Park Stadium in Nairobi.

The losers will battle for a bronze medal on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Kenya women's team were scheduled to play South Africa on Friday in the semi-finals while hosts Ghana were to play Zimbabwe in another fixture.

At the end of the event, the winners in the women's edition will represent the continent in the International Hockey Federation (FIH) World Cup on July 1 to 17 to be co-hosted by Netherlands and Spain, while the winner in the men's event will book a slot in next year's championship in India on January 13-29.