Harambee Stars coach Enjin Virat has urged his players to play better and make up for the heavy defeat his team suffered on Friday when Kenya hosts Cameroon in the rematch of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers on Monday.
Kenya will host the Indomitable Lions today at the Mandela National Stadium in Kampala from 4pm (Kenyan time) behind closed doors. The Stars suffered a heavy defeat 4-1 in the first leg, which was held at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium, which has a capacity of 42,000 spectators, in Yaounde, Cameroon.
“We have to change the way we play. We have to be aggressive, even though my team was not used to playing in front of the fans that were in Cameroon. In this match, I hope to achieve a positive result,” said Frat.
The Group J match will be held behind closed doors.
The stars have been camping in Kampala since their arrival in Uganda on Saturday after losing on Friday to five-time African champions Cameroon, and they will try to recover after the heavy defeat that sparked angry reactions from fans in Nairobi.
“In the second half, we played better and in this match (today’s match), we have to change the mistakes we made and defend better. We have to wake up and perform better,” the 54-year-old Turkish coach told reporters yesterday in Kampala.
In the first leg, Firat was subjected to severe criticism regarding his team selection. Notably, Virat dropped KCB goalkeeper Brian Omondi in favor of Patrick Matassi, which backfired as Matassi made costly mistakes in the match.
Omondi was in goal as Kenya played out a 0-0 draw with Zimbabwe in their Group J match played on September 6 at the Mandela National Stadium, the venue of today’s match.
On 10 September, Omondi produced a man of the match performance as Kenya beat Namibia 2-1 at Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg.
Today, fans will be watching to see whether Frat sticks with Matassi or gives Omondi a starting place against Cameroon.
Cameroon dominated the midfield and attack, and Kenya will have to improve by a margin if they are to match the Indomitable Lions in both departments. Saudi Arabia-based Christian Basogog, Carlos Balega and Martin Hongla combined well to beat down Kenya’s midfield, passing the ball to experienced Vincent Abubakar to unleash powerful shots.
Kenyan Richard Odada was the main culprit in the first leg, and he will have to improve to manage the Cameroonians, who were lethal in attack and dominated the midfield.
Firat could also opt to field Jonah Ayunga alongside captain Michael Olunga in attack and the Stars could capitalize on set-pieces, something that seems to be bothering Cameroon’s defenders.
Ahead of the clash, the Cameroon camp was divided, with coach Marc Marc Brace threatening to resign after the Cameroonian Football Federation omitted the name of his assistant, Joachim Mununga, from the official roster for the match against Kenya.
“I’m very angry. We started off working well with Fecafoot, but I was shocked when I saw my assistant’s name missing from the official match supervisor list. I was angry. Let me warn you, if this happens again, I will resign,” Bryce said.
He added: “My assistant was categorical that this was a sign of his lack of respect for him, and threatened to resign.” I need to discuss it with him. “If it happens again, I will leave the team,” Brees added.
