Charles Nyende
31 May 2008
Nairobi — Harambee Stars begin another quest for a first ever World Cup qualification with an away tie to Namibia's Brave Warriors in Windhoek Saturday, kick-off 4 pm Kenyan time.
There has been a lot of talk on how good this Harambee Stars team is, how focused they are despite the wrangles over Kenya Football Federation leadership and how well they have been taken care of.
New coach, Francis Kimanzi and his assistants, Yusuf Chipo and James Nandwa, have been saying this set of players are technically good and will produce the desired results if they play according to strategy.
Tight, compact game
The most in strategy that Kimanzi revealed was that Kenya will play a tight, compact game, denying the home side any opportunities while waiting to catch them on the counter attack.
All that talk now has to put into action Saturday. According to the latest Fifa world rankings, Kenya are placed higher at 120 compared to Namibia's 129.
Directly inferring from this piece of statistic, one can say Harambee Stars are favoured to win.
But football is not that simple. Namibia were in the last African Nations final held in Ghana a little under four months ago while Kenya could only watch the action from home.
The Brave Warriors are playing at home and crucially - for them, in only the two meeting between the two sides, the Brave Warriors have triumphed with 1-0 score lines.
Four-man backline
The stage is thus set for an intriguing contest between two nations who will legitimately feel the three points are there for the taking. Kimanzi has a squad that is not new to the big stage.
Arnold Origi should retain the goalkeeper's jersey and will have in front of him a four-man back line marshalled by Edgar Ochieng, a late call up in his career, who showed his ability in the Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup last year.
Loyd Wahome is the likely central partner for the tough tackling Ochieng with Ibrahim Shikanda and John Njoroge manning the wings.
Captain Robert Mambo can direct proceeding in midfield together with Titus Mulama while Kevin Ochieng, Austine Makacha and Osborn Sunday knock for a starting position.
The forward line picks itself. Dennis Oliech and Patrick Oboya formed an excellent partnership in the final stages of last year's Nations Cup qualifiers that Kimanzi will have no business breaking it up.
Allan Wanga, the top scorer in last year's Kenyan Premier League, Boniface Ambani and current Mathare United hitman Francis Ouma provide the other options for Kenya's goal hunt.
Namibia are a decent football side and have two Nations Cup finals appearance to show for it since they were admitted to CAF in 1990.
What they lack in flair they make up for in hard work and a strong will that they exhibited in Ghana growing in confidence with every game to finally draw 1-1 with Guinea after 1-5 loss to Morocco and 0-1 to the hosts.
Coach Arie Schans can look to Namibia's best talent, midfielder Collins Benjamin of Hamburg, Germany, Oliver Riser and Brain Brendor, scorer of all their goals in the Nations Cup in Ghana.
Harambee Stars will have done half the job by checking on these three players.
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