Harambee Stars skipper and Tottenham midfielder, Victor Wanyama has come out to admit that it was an awful experience for Tottenham Hotspur to lose against Liverpool in the Uefa Champions League final in Spain, Wanda Metropolitano.
Mohamed Salah who will be among the many watched players in the upcoming AFCON competitions was the first to open the scores in what is believed to be the second fastest goal in the competitions in just 108 seconds after it was ruled that Sissoko had a handball in the box in a technical cross from Senegalese forward, Sadio Mane.
Speaking for the first time since the breathtaking and heart-breaking final, Wanyama who is the second Kenyan to play in the finals and general UEFA competitions after his brother, the unused sub says they have accepted the outcome and will have to move on and focus on other matters as well.
“Yes, sure you learn a lot from the final, you either learn also or correct your mistakes but I believe we have learned a lot from the defeat in the final and it is not easy, because it takes time to digest it,” Wanyama told reporters in France after a training session with teammates Harambee Stars.
“We have to accept and move on, it is part of life and you know, in any final, there always must be a winner and also a loser and it happened that we lost, kudos to Liverpool for winning the title.
“We can only focus now and correct the mistakes that happened in the final and maybe try again, who knows, we can still play in the final again.”
Some deft skill from our Captain @VictorWanyama in training on Wednesday. Describe him in one word#Tunaweza #BetinNaStars #AFCON2019 #HarambeeStars pic.twitter.com/rkkszlxvZU
— Football Kenya Federation (@Football_Kenya) June 6, 2019
The national team captain has now turned his focus to help Harambee Stars do well at the Africa Cup of Nation, where the Kenyan side have qualified for the first time after more than a decade but are set to impress in the competitions under his captaincy.
“I don’t want to think about the Champions League final anymore, I am now looking forward to helping Kenya have an incredible journey in the Afcon. That is my focus now and we are determined to make them shine in Egypt,” Wanyama continued.
“I feel proud to be part of this team and also to qualify for Afcon after a very long time, it is a very big achievement for us and we are really happy with that and hopefully we are not going there to tour but give the teams a run for their money.
“We are in a tough group and I think our opponents are very strong, but I think we are strong too and we are ready for the challenge and it will be great to play alongside top players like Sadio Mane of Senegal, it won’t be easy but I think everyone is buzzing and looking ahead of the tournament.”
Throwback to when Victor Wanyama destroyed Liverpool with a thunderbolt. #UCLfinal Spurs vs Liverpool. #ChampionsLeague pic.twitter.com/zJYT4gumJL
— Local Kenyan Man, Author. (@author_sakwah) June 1, 2019
Kenya who are the underdogs with their immediate East African country, Tanzania will open the Group C campaign against Algeria who enjoys the services of Manchester City winger, Riyad Mahrez on June 23 and face Tanzania four days later before finishing against Senegal on July 1.