Kenya’s Harambee Stars will be playing in the African Cup of Nations for the first time in 15 years! Sebastian Migne’s men have been grouped alongside Sadio Mane’s Senegal, Riyad Mahrez’s Algeria and East African neighbors Tanzania. Under the guidance of veteran coach Jacob ghost Mulei, Harambee Stars did not make it past the group stages in 2004.
Let’s take a look at how the team faired in their last tournament that was held in Tunisia…
Mali 3-1 Kenya
Harambee Stars first match was against the North African giants. We got a dream start when Kenya scored an early goal sending the whole nation into a frenzy but that was short as quick fire goals from Mali saw us lose the match 3-1. All of Mali’s goals came in the first half but the those few minutes that Kenya was leading are possibly the proudest the nation has ever felt.
Senegal 2-0 Kenya
Senegal had reached the final in 2002 tournament only losing on penalties to Samuel Etoo’s Cameroon. El Hadji Diouf’s team had also made it to the quarterfinals of the World cup in the same year, beating the then defending Champions France along the way.
Prior to this particular match, there was a promise made by the Kenyan minister of sports claiming that should Harambee Stars score a goal against the West African giants, the goal scorer would pocket a clean 50,000 shillings!
Well, things did not go as planned and Mulei’s men were eventually beaten 2-0.
Kenya 3-0 Burkina Faso
The best match in the tournament from Kenya perspective saw Emmanuel Ake open the scoring in the first half following neat play from Dennis Oliech. Harambee Stars added a second before Dennis Oliech capped his man of the match performance by helping himself to a goal and Kenya’s third. The win ensured that Harambee Stars ended the tournament on a high and took home 3 points.
How far can the Harambee Stars go this time round? Share your thoughts in the comments section below…