The East African nation learned of their draw on Thursday, June 4th, after it was conducted in Johannesburg, South Africa, and being pooled in Group J alongside Cameroon, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.
The draw elicited debate amongst football-loving Kenyans, some tipping the Indomitable Lions to qualify as group leaders, others saying Harambee Stars, who missed the last qualifiers for the 2023 edition in Ivory Coast, had been handed a kind draw.
Despite being pooled in Group C alongside Cameroon, Namibia, and Burundi, Kenya did not participate in the 2023 qualifiers after they were kicked out by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) following an indefinite suspension that had been slapped on them by the World governing body FIFA for alleged government interference.
Kenya group difficult but doesn’t change vision
Speaking about the draw, the former Moldovia tactician admitted it was tough but pointed out his ambitions to take Kenya to the tournament in the North African nation.
“I agree that everybody (all the teams in the group) have a chance, everybody in this group has a chance to finish top or even qualify, and this makes the group very difficult but it doesn’t change the fact we want to go to AFCON,” Firat told Flashscore.
“It doesn’t matter if we are first, second whatever, we have only one aim, even if the group is tough we want to go to Morocco.
“I don’t underestimate anyone, I don’t make shows, I am realistic in whatever I do, I know how tough it is but we want to go to the AFCON, and I don’t care what it takes.”
On what to expect from the group and playing against the Warriors of Zimbabwe, Firat said: “We are placed in a tough group, all these teams have high quality, I start even to read some big experts talking about Zimbabwe like it is easy (playing against them), the reality is Zimbabwe was in Pot 4 (for the draw), which means the last pot because they had a bend like us, they dropped like Kenya in the FIFA rankings.
“If you check Zimbabwe, the last list of players you will see they have more players in top leagues than we have and we know exactly how strong they are.”
He continued: “Everybody in the group is tough to beat it means everybody can beat everybody, therefore, even if you lose a game, there is no big value because everybody will lose and this is the reality of these group.”
Kenya can qualify for AFCON with a proper strategy
According to former Gor Mahia coach Bob Oyugi, Kenya stands a good chance to make it from the group if they put in place a serious strategy.
“With proper strategy, yes, Kenya can make it from the pool, we only need to consider all teams as equal and plan well on how to approach them, according to their different environmental factors,” Oyugi told Flashscore.
“Cameroon, Namibia, Zimbabwe, all play different styles, Kenyan players are individual talents that only need to train together long enough to acquire consistency, in simple terms, they need to train in a way that develops their individual, and group tactics within their chosen formation.”
Oyugi, who guided Gor Mahia to their eleventh Kenyan Premier League title in 1993, advised Firat on what to do ahead of the qualifiers, which will kick off in September 2024 and end in November 2024.
“All teams are good, including Kenya, and we only need points from those good teams, so the coach Engin (Firat) must study his players better, he should introduce his philosophy to the players, and develop team chemistry, and consistency, so that they ready by the time Kenya plays the first game,” added Oyugi, who coached the defunct Kenya Taitex Mills (KTM) and Thika United in the Premier League.
Cameroon are Kenya’s only threat
Former AFC Leopards coach Gilbert Selebwa believes Cameroon would be Kenya’s threat in their quest to seal a qualification slot for Morocco.
“I find it an easy group for Kenya, they have been given relatively good sides that they can handle, apart from Cameroon, who have always not been kind enough whenever we play against them, especially in their backyard,” Selebwa told Flashscore.
“Kenya should plan on how to handle Cameroon, home and away, I have a strong feeling they can get good points from Zimbabwe and Namibia, and I am confident Kenya will qualify as runners-up.”
Kenya have participated in the AFCON six times, the first being in 1972. Their last appearance came in 2019, during the 32nd edition of the tournament, where they finished third in Group C which also had Algeria, Senegal, and Tanzania.
Harambee Stars lost their opener 2-0 against Algeria, recovered to beat neighbours Taifa Stsrs 3-2 before losing 3-0 against the Lions of Teranga to exit at the group stage.
