NAIROBI, Kenya
An East African derby between Kenya and Uganda promises a thrilling start to the 2022 World Cup Qualifying Group E campaign, with the Harambee Stars and the Cranes set to cross swords at the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi on Thursday.
Kick-off is at 4pm EAT.
Kenya, who have never qualified for the World
Cup finals, were last in action in March and recorded a 2-1 away win over Togo
– courtesy of goals from Abdallah Hassan and Masud Juma – though the result was
not enough to earn qualification for the next Africa Cup of Nations.
Harambee Stars coach Jacob Mulee notably left
high-profile players out of his squad for this match, such as former captain
Victor Wanyama, Joash Onyango, Ayub Timbe and Anthony Akumu.
Instead, he has handed responsibility to
local-based players, including the reigning Kenyan Premier League top goal
scorer Eric Kapaito.
“I really appreciate the opportunity I’ve been
given to play for the national team and we are looking to some positive results
in the forthcoming qualifiers," said the Kariobangi Sharks striker.
“My hope is that we shall replicate the
marvellous performance we exhibited in the Premier League when we don the
national team jersey.”
Uganda, who like Kenya have never played at
the global showpiece and also missed out on Afcon qualification, were last in
action in June, suffering a 3-2 defeat in a friendly against South Africa in
Soweto.
The Cranes have brought Milutin ‘Micho’
Sredojevic back as coach and are looking to hand the reins over to a new
generation of up-and-coming players, though captain Emmanuel Okwi remains their
key figure both in terms of leadership and goal-getting.
“We have prepared well since day one of
training. The response of the players has been top notch and we are ready to
give our best,” said Okwi.
In head-to-head stats, Kenya and Uganda have
met in 77 matches across all competitions and friendlies since their first
recorded clash back in 1926. The Cranes have claimed 32 wins compared to 22 for
the Harambee Stars, while 23 games have been drawn.
The teams’ most recent meeting was a friendly
in Nairobi in September 2019 which ended 1-1 after goals from Kenneth Muguna
and Emmanuel Okwi.
Following this match, Kenya will go on to face
Rwanda in Kigali on 5 September, while Uganda will host Mali in Entebbe on 6
September.
In other matches, Tanzania is expected to try its football ability against the host DR Congo at TP Mazembe stadium in Lubumbashi (4pm EAT) while Niger will host Burkina Faso, Namibia hosting Congo Republic and Madagascar hosting Benin at 7pm EAT.
In the other two matches, Algeria will host Djibouti and Morocco shall host Sudan at 10pm EAT.
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