In Pursuit Of History: Confident Stars Land In Cairo For AFCON 2019 Charge

NAIROBI, Kenya- Decked out in smart broken designer suits, Kenya's Harambee Stars arrived in Cairo for the Egypt 2019 CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) two days before kick-off to the 24-nation football party where they will face Algeria, Tanzania and finally Senegal in Group C of the preliminary round of the continental showpiece.

Football Kenya Federation (FKF) confirmed Wednesday that the team that is returning to the AFCON finals for the first time since 2004 touched down in the Egyptian capital where unlike their previous five appearances, Kenya are seeking to qualify to the knockout stages for the first time ever.

"The Kenya National Team, Harambee Stars has touched base in Cairo, Egypt, ahead of the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations which Kenya will be taking part in for the first time in 15 years.

"This comes after the team’s 19-day residential camp in France, a precursor to the continental showpiece," FKF posted on their website.

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It was a culmination of a journey to the finals of the biggest football tournament in Africa that started on June 10, 2017 when Stars travelled to Sierra Leone for their first Group F qualifier where their 1-2 defeat was later annulled when their hosts were expelled from the tournament by CAF.

In May 2018, FKF unveiled Frenchman Sebastien Migne as the new head coach, taking over from Belgian Paul Put who resigned in February and against all odds, Stars punched their ticket to Egypt with a game to spare.

In his first competitive match, Migne led Kenya to shock four-time AFCON champions Ghana 1-0 in Nairobi on September 8, 2018 before they returned from Ethiopia with a point after forcing the Walya Antelopes to a 0-0 stalemate at the Bahir Dar Stadium, Bahir Dar on October 10, 2018. 

Four days later, a 3-0 victory at the MISC Kasarani Stadium brought Stars to the brink of AFCON 2019 qualification that was confirmed in February when Sierra Leone were kicked out of the tournament. 

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That made their 0-1 loss to Ghana in Accra in their final qualifier on March 23 academic as Kenya joined the Black Stars in the expanded AFCON finals that get underway when hosts Egypt play Zimbabwe at the Cairo International Stadium on Friday evening.

Making history

Kenya beat Madagascar 1-0 before drawing 1-1 against the Democratic Republic of Congo in their recent AFCON build-up matches in France and Spain before leaving for Cairo.

GET WELL SOON: Harambee Stars teammates show support injured defender, Brian Mandela (in crutches), before they left for Cairo at their training camp. PHOTO/Courtesy/FKF

Speaking before departure to Egypt, Migne urged his players to capitalise on their chances to finish off their opponents for them to stand a chance of making history and advancing to the knockout stages of the AFCON for the first time ever.

“We had a good game against DR Congo in the friendly, good performance and it was interesting for me and for the confidence of the team, I think we were better than Congo but at the end we only managed to draw,” Migne told reporters after the team held their final training session in France before they head to Egypt.

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“It was a good lesson for my players, that not to forget when you play a top team, anything can happen and we must be serious in the last minute and when you have the chance to kill them, you need to kill the game off, otherwise in football you can be in danger," he added.

Stars conceded an equaliser to fellow 2019 AFCON finalists DRC in the 87th minute having dominated the game and created the better chances against a side stacked with players turning out for big clubs in Europe.

Building his side on stoic defending and rapid counter attacks, the former Republic of Congo boss saw his AFCON plans rocked by injury to dependable centre half Brian Mandela who will join the team in Egypt having been operated on the knee he injured during training in France.

Migne is still assessing the fitness of fellow defenders Eric 'Marcelo' Ouma and Musa Mohammed ahead of the Algeria game having started the duo on the bench against the DRC last Saturday. 

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On Sunday, it will be the turn of Kenyans to get behind their team when Stars play the 1990 champions, Desert Foxes of Algeria before locking horns with rival neighbours Tanzania next Thursday (June 27). Migne and his side will wrap up their Group C charge with another testing fixture against the Lions of Teranga of Senegal on July 1.

Stars are hoping to build on their only AFCON victory achieved at the October 15 Stadium in Bizerte, Tunisia where the team led by then head coach, Jacob 'Ghost' Mulee blanked Burkina Faso 3-0 on February 2, 2004 in their last Group B fixture.

However, Kenya had already been eliminated from the competition following successive loses to Mali (1-3) and Senegal (0-3) in their opening two games and ahead of Egypt 2019, the Stars camp have set a minimum target of making the round of 16.

The first two teams from each of the six groups will advance to the knockout phase with the country's that come third waiting to know whether they will be ranked among the best four third-placed teams, advance to the round of 16.

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