Football
Exclusive: Harambee Stars AFCON Qualification Hopes ‘Not in Our Hands’, Admits Engin Firat
Harambee Stars coach Engin Firat admits Kenya’s AFCON qualification hopes are slim after back-to-back defeats by Cameroon, but vows to keep pushing for a place in the tournament
Image Credits: PHILL MAGAKOE/AFP via Getty Images
Kenyan head coach Engin Firat has openly confessed that the team’s 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualification hopes are beyond them following their two consecutive defeats against Cameroon in the qualifiers for the Morocco tournament.
The East African nation suffered a huge blow in their quest to qualify for the seventh appearance at the 35th edition of the tournament after losing to the Indomitable Lions on a home and away basis.
In the first meeting at Japoma Stadium in Doula, Cameroon hammered Kenya 4-1 before the African giants sealed a double over Harambee Stars with a 1-0 win at the Stade Nelson Mandela Stadium in Uganda, on Monday, Ocrober 14.
Before the Cameroon fixtures, Kenya was sitting top of Group J with four points, the same number as the Indomitable Lions but they had a better goal difference. But after the two-legged fixtures, Kenya dropped to third position in the group with four points, while Cameroon moved top with 10 points.
Zimbabwe, who picked a double win over Namibia, 1-0 in the first meeting and 3-1 in the reverse fixture on Monday, October 14, are now second with eight points while the Brave Warriors, who have lost all their opening four matches, are last without a point.
Kenya Will Continue to Push for AFCON Qualification
While admitting that Kenya’s chances to qualify for the tournament in the North African nation are now slim, Firat said nothing will change the fact that Harambee Stars’ target is to qualify for the AFCON.
“We will not give up, we understand the situation, after Zimbabwe win against Namibia it means it is not in our hands anymore but for us it doesn’t change our target to qualify, we have to go for the remaining two matches to win and these we will try and hopefully get a good outcome,” Firat told SportsBoom.com.
“In this group everybody expected the result will be very similar, nobody expected Namibia to lose so many matches especially after Namibia played in January AFCON, they were a very good side but now they have gone out of the group, therefore, we don’t want to give up but we are not in the situation which we had wanted to be from the start of the campaign.”
People should pray for us, and we will do our best to get the AFCON ticket.
Engin Firat
Kenya Were Much Improved in Uganda against Cameroon
Speaking on the overall outcome of game in Uganda, Firat praised his charges for a better display than in the 4-1 defeat in Douala and further hit out at the Indomitable Lions for playing a defensive game and deploying time wasting antics so as to deny his side from scoring.
“The first match was not what he expected but the second match I cannot say anything, first half we controlled and second half we wanted to go for the result, we had more than enough chances to score but Cameroon popped up with a goal from a free-kick,” added Firat.
“There is nothing we can do, and despite Cameroon scoring (taking the lead), we dominated totally the game, and it was surprising to see Cameroon playing not beyond their half, to defend the result, and they resorted to time wasting, I am very sorry that despite the boys giving everything in the game, there is nothing to take from it.
“A positive result is what missed from the game but the reality of football is even with luck or without luck, if you play well or not, what matters is the result, it is the only reality, and we missed the result today.”
On making changes to his starting XI, dropping the likes of goalkeeper Patrick Matasi for Bryne Omondi, Firat said: “I decided to make the changes because I am the coach, at first I trusted him and about the other players, you have to understand Johnstone (Omurwa) was injured in training while in Nairobi and in regards to Joseph (Okumu) he couldn’t play normally and we didn’t want to play him but the situation forced us to give him second half but both of the team felt well for this game and hence the decision to start them.”
In Uganda, lead striker Michael Olunga, who had scored in the away defeat, wasted a number of chances including a one-one-one situation with goalkeeper Andre Onana.
Asked about the performance of the Al Duhail SC striker, who was making a comeback to the team after missing the first two matches explained: “He (Olunga) gives everything, that is the reality, I cannot complain about any player, every player gave everything, Michael (Olunga) is a perfect captain, even if he has pain, even if he is not fit he will give 100 percent for the team and he did it again today (against Cameroon), it was unlucky he didn’t score but I am sure the next game he will score.”
Kenya will face Zimbabwe on November 11 before winding up their group matches with a home game against Namibia on November 19.
Dennis is a seasoned journalist in Kenya with over 18 years of experience. Having started his career at Kenya Times Newspaper, Dennis worked for Standard Newspaper for nearly six years as a Sports Writer. At Standard, he was privileged to cover Kenya's national team Harambee Stars outside the country, the biggest of all being the Four Nations tournament in Cairo, Egypt. He also covered the U17 team in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.