Captain Baron Ochieng bullish as Kenya U20 gear up for AFCON debut
By Dennis Mabuka, April 17, 2025Kenya’s Under-20 national team captain Baron Ochieng has declared the squad ready to face Africa’s football heavyweights at the upcoming Confederation of African Football (CAF) Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt, boldly stating that they “don’t fear anyone” ahead of their historic debut in the continental showpiece.
The tournament, scheduled to run from April 27 to May 18, 2025, will feature 13 nations battling for continental supremacy and four qualification spots for the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile 2025
Kenya in ‘Group B’
Last Sunday, CAF conducted the final draw for the tournament, which was initially scheduled to be held in Ivory Coast before the West African nation withdrew.
Kenya, who will be participating in the competition for the first time, were drawn in Group B alongside record seven-time champions Nigeria, former winners Tunisia, and Morocco.
Hosts Egypt, who are three-time champions, headlined Group A, where they were pitted against Zambia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, and Tanzania.
Meanwhile, defending champions Senegal were drawn in Group C alongside the Central African Republic, DR Congo, and Ghana; the latter aiming to reclaim the title they won in 2009, the same year they became the only African team to win the FIFA U-20 World Cup.
“We have been training for the past two weeks, and everything has been going on well as planned. Our intensity has been building, and the confidence has been growing. Despite the change in the draw, we don’t have any fear, we are ready and prepared to face anyone in the tournament,” said Ochieng, who plays for Sofapaka in the Kenyan Premier League, in an interview with Flashscore.
Piece of cake
“In fact, facing Morocco is nothing to fear. Before the draw changed, if we had done well in the group stages, it meant we could have come up against them; maybe even in the quarter-finals or semi-finals. We were definitely going to play Morocco and the rest of the so-called giants, so we don’t have to fear facing them in the group stage.”
Ochieng added: “We are prepared for the task ahead and we are good to go. As players, we don’t have to blame the weather if results don’t go our way. Most of the players who live in Nairobi sometimes travel to Mombasa to play matches and we end up winning. So we must adapt. We will definitely adapt to the weather.”
On Tuesday, April 15, President William Ruto flagged off the team for the tournament.
They will first head to Morocco for a 10-day training camp before proceeding to Egypt.
According to Ochieng, the decision to camp in Morocco will help the team acclimatise before the tournament gets underway.
“We are going for a pre-camp stay in Morocco before proceeding to Egypt. The weather we will experience in Morocco is the same as in Egypt. As players, it doesn’t take long to adapt to a new environment. We only need two to three days, and we’ll adjust to the current weather,” explained Ochieng.
‘We will execute tactics’
On facing Morocco, Ochieng said: “Nowadays, there’s no such thing as football for Arabs and blacks. We will approach the game based on tactics. The same tactics we were to use against Senegal will be different from how we’ll play against Morocco. Of course, it is up to the coach; he’ll bring in new tactics, and for us, we will execute what he wants us to do. We will definitely do our best.”
Ochieng, however, admitted that the changes made to the groups affected their initial plans for the tournament, but the team will remain focused.
“Of course, yes we got confused when we were told that our group was changing, and suddenly we saw a different set of opponents. But it has actually encouraged my fellow players because facing tougher opponents makes you more challenged. We are up to the task, and we are relaxed because we know we have a good team and we are going to fight.”
He concluded: “It’s not about individuals; it’s about the country. I will strive to help the team, and if we win, we win as Kenyans, not as individuals. It’s about the country, and we look psyched and ready to take on the new challenge to make Kenyans proud.”
Kenya will face Morocco in their opener on May 1, before taking on Tunisia on May 4 and wrapping up their preliminary fixtures against Nigeria on May 7.