Strong finish to Afcon qualifiers sets Kenya up for World Cup bid

The Harambee Stars of Kenya might have failed to qualify for the next Africa Cup of Nations, but they did finish their qualifying campaign on a high, picking up four points from their last two matches.

Going into their final two matches, Kenya were still in with a chance of making it to next year's rescheduled Afcon in Cameroon, but those hopes were dashed when the Comoros Islands registered a home draw against Togo, and the East Africans failed to beat Egypt at home.

Comoros will compete at the Cup of Nations for the first time in their history, joining Egypt as the qualifiers from the group.

That continental minnows, Comoros are going to Cameroon at expense of the Harambee Stars is a slap in the face to Kenyan football.

The tiny island nation only joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in 2003, and became a Fifa member nation two years later.

Kenya ultimately paid the price for a slow start that saw them pick up just three points from their first four qualifying matches. They began their campaign with a brilliant away draw in Egypt, but the excitement and optimism that followed that result were dampened by consecutive home draws against Togo and Comoros.

That, effectively, was where Kenya lost the plot.

Despite the disappointment of missing out on the Afcon, Kenyan fans can draw encouragement from how they finished their qualifying campaign. The Stars got a very creditable 1-1 home draw against Egypt before cruising to a fine 2-1 victory in Togo.

The success over Togo was their first away win in 18 years. The fact that Jacob "Ghost" Mulee's men were missing some of their senior players makes that result even more impressive.

During the international break, Kenya also managed a couple of friendly wins over South Sudan and Tanzania. To cap a very positive month, the national team rose two positions in the latest Fifa rankings, climbing to 102nd in the world.

There is not much time to dwell over the qualifying setback, because the World Cup qualifiers are right around the corner. Kenya will begin their bid to reach a first ever World Cup in June.

The Harambee Stars will compete in Group E alongside Uganda, Mali and Rwanda. The group winners will progress to the next phase of the qualifying series, where they will face the top team from another group to decide who goes to Qatar in 2022.

Mali and Uganda are currently ranked inside the top 100 in the world, while Rwanda are the only side below Kenya, according to the Fifa rankings.

Going by that, Kenya are unlikely to qualify, but their recent performances and results inspire hope that they can rise above the odds and move to the next stage.

Who knows? This could be the year! Harambee fans may want to place an early wager on betting sites in Kenya!

Kenya's World Cup qualifying group is not the most daunting in the world. They managed to dodge the really big guns like Senegal, Algeria, Nigeria and Egypt, and have Mali, at number 9 in Africa, as the highest ranked team in their group.

They may not be the favourites, but Mulee's men will definitely like their chances in this group.