Harambee Stars ready to battle big boys in 2019 AFCON

Harambee Stars Captain Victor Wanyama controls the ball in a past training session [Courtesy]

Next year promises to be a significant one for national football team, Harambee Stars.

Stars will grace the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) for the first time in 15 years.

Since Kenya’s last appearance at the 2004 Afcon in Tunisia, a total of seven tournaments have been played in their absence.

After the Tunisia assignment where they registered one win (against Burkina Faso), Stars have witnessed a high turnover of coaches, 19, to be precise.

Two of those tacticians (Zedekiah Otieno and James Nandwa) were at the helm on interim basis.

The lengthy period of heartbreaks has often been characterised by blame games with football enthusiasts pointing fingers at stakeholders with each failed attempt of Afcon qualification.

Players have also come and gone and unfortunately for some, they left the scene without representing the country at Africa’s premier football tournament.

However, before Stars travel to either Egypt or South Africa for the biennial tournament, they will have a chance of finishing the qualifiers as group winners when they confront Ghana in a winner-takes-it-all tie scheduled for March.

Harambee Stars coach Sebastien Migne [Courtesy]

By all standards, 2018 was a good year for the team.

The little off-field issues that have always been witnessed were dealt with accordingly as opposed to the past and this is arguably one of the reasons why Stars seem to have rekindled their shine.

When the team, then under the tutelage of Stanley Okumbi, lost its opening match of the 2019 Afcon qualifiers away to the expelled Sierra Leone, they looked like they were out of the running and very few would have tipped them to qualify at that time.

Belgian coach Paul Put, who was appointed as a replacement for Okumbi in an attempt to salvage the situation, would then quit in February, barely four months into his reign.

Then in came Frenchman Sebastien Migne, the man who turned things around, masterminding a historic 1-0 win over Ghana in his first competitive match in charge.

Kenya’s first ever win over the Black Stars, of course coupled with Sierra Leone’s disqualification from the race have since proven to be crucial for the East Africans.

Stars’ heroics saw them earn a nomination from the Confederation of African Football (Caf) for the 2018 national men’s team of the year but they did not make the final shortlist.

Migné’s faith in local-based talent is one of his attributes that have undoubtedly endeared him to the fans.

The tactician has brought to the limelight the likes of Philemon Otieno who has gone ahead to impress at right back, a position the country has struggled with in recent years.

Having broken into the starting team, the Gor Mahia utility man could as well have made the position his own if his recent performances in national colours are anything to go by.

Apart from Otieno, Dennis Odhiambo, who had found frequent game time hard to come by under Migne’s predecessors, was also impressive for Stars at the middle of the park.

Heading to the Afcon showpiece, his partnership with captain Victor Wanyama should definitely help the side compete favourably.

To say that Migné has performed well in his first few months in charge is an understatement, keeping in mind that some fans were skeptical with his appointment following his dismal while with the Congo national team.

The coach is, however, on record saying that Kenya has a long way to go to be at par with other African powerhouses.

With the new-look Afcon now expanded to accomodate 24 teams, Kenyans can only hope that Stars will be regulars at the competition.

The Afcon qualification should also be a stepping stone as the side prepares to give a stab at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

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