Come 11 pm this Sunday, Harambee Stars will take the pitch to play the country’s first match at the Africa Cup O Nations in 15 years. Kenya will be up against the Desert Warriors of Algeria at the 30 June Stadium in Cairo, Harambee Stars will be out to make history and qualify for the Knockout rounds for the first time ever having failed in 5 previous attempts.
Below we look at the 3 main talking points ahead of the eagerly awaited match..
Sebastian Migne’s tactics
Tournament football has zero margins for error. It is exactly why Sebastian Migne needs to get his tactics for the matching spot on. Naturally a pragmat, the French man will likely employ a 4-2-3-1 formation with the possibility of altering to a 4-3-3 depending on the score at certain stages of the match.
In the qualifier match against Ghana, Migne opted to sit back on both occasions while using Ayub Timbe and Johanna Omollo’s pace to break with speed. The approach worked as Kenya won the match at Kasarani and only narrowly lost away largely thanks to a goalkeeping error from Patrick Matasi. Migne will probably adopt the same against the North Africans who are clearly the favorites heading into the match.
The Riyad Mahrez threat
Dealing with the World Class talent that is Riyad Mahrez has to be top on the to-do list for Migne and his boys. The Manchester City winger has the ability to decide matches on his won and Stars will have to be wary of this.
Aboud Omar and Philemon Otieno, the two fullbacks who will likely start, will have to bring their A game if Kenya will get anything from the match. Should Mahrez move central, Joash Onyango and Musa Mohammed will be tasked with dealing with the mercurial winger. Stopping Mahrez could go a long way in deciding the outcome of the match.
As Uganda and Madagascar showed on day 2 of the tournament, anything is possible in football. All you need is a very good game plan and follow it from the 1st to the last minute. Do you think Harambee Stars have it in them to ring a surprise against the Algerians? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below…