Kenya’s national football team, Harambee Stars, has set up camp in Polokwane, South Africa, where they will soon face Zimbabwe this Friday and Namibia next week on Tuesday in crucial 2025 African Cup of Nations (Afcon) Qualifiers that will determine their path to the Morocco tournament next year.
Harambee Stars have a monumental task ahead, needing maximum points from both matches to secure a qualification ticket for the continental showdown.
Kenya currently sits third in Group J with four points after four matches.
Cameroon, already qualified, leads the group with ten points, while Zimbabwe is second with eight points and only requires a draw against Kenya to secure their spot in the tournament.
Head coach Engin Firat remains unfazed by the pressure of these decisive away matches.
“If you cannot handle pressure, then you should find another job outside football. For me, this is not new, and I’m glad to approach these deciding matches, even adding pressure on myself and the players. These kinds of games give our players a chance to show their skill and resilience in high-stakes situations. Stars players shine in matches like these, not just in ordinary games. So, I have a good feeling about getting the results we need if everything goes to plan,” Firat told People Sport.
The team left Nairobi yesterday morning for Johannesburg, followed by a four-hour road trip to Polokwane.
The traveling squad included goalkeepers Faruk Shikhalo and Byrne Omondi, defenders Charles Momanyi and Aboud Omar; and Gor Mahia’s Rooney Onyango and Austin Odhiambo.
Foreign-based players Duke Abuya (Yanga), Anthony Teddy Akumu (Kheybar) and Egypt-based forward John Avire were also part of the group. The remaining international players are expected to join the camp by tomorrow.
Firat’s squad has struggled in recent matches, losing three of their last four games, including a ghastly 2-0 loss to South Sudan in the 2025 African Nations Championships (Chan) Qualifiers last month, followed by a 1-1 draw in the return leg in Kampala.
In Polokwane, Harambee Stars face the demanding challenge of securing wins against a tricky Zimbabwe and a bruised Namibia at Peter Mokaba Stadium.
Harambee Stars suffered a retrograssive and humiliating double defeats against the Indomitable Lions (4-1 and 1-0) which left them in a daunting position in this campaign.
The last month’s results means, there will be no room for error and the team must collect all the points in the two matches and pray that Zimbabwe does not win against Cameroon in the last game in Yaoundé next week.
Coach Firat also took concern with Zimbabwe’s choice if match-day five venue in the city of Polokwane,stating the difficulties in logistics for his players.
Kenya decided to host Namibia for the final qualifying match at the same venue.
“The only problem we have now is about logistics.I don’t know why they chose to play in this city of Polokwane because it is very difficult to get there.It is not easy to get domestic flights and therefore one is oftenly fierce to take a road travel and it about five hours drive from Johannesburg.I am concerned about how tired my players will and getting them ready for the match on Friday.”
Polokwane city is in the north of Johannesburg and approximately 238km from the South Africa-Zimbabwe border. Probably,the reason the hosts chose the venue is for easy travel of fans from the border town of Beitbridge to Polokwane, which estimated to be a 3 hour trip by road.
