Can Harambee Stars make amends in the return match against Cameroon?

By Tony Kipkorir

The men’s national football team, Harambee Stars, will renew their rivalry against Cameroon when they meet in the AFCON Africa Cup of Nations (2025) qualifiers on Monday afternoon.

Kenya enter the crucial match, which is scheduled to be held at the Mandela National Stadium in Uganda, hoping to avenge their crushing 4-1 defeat in the first leg three days ago in Yaounde.

In the one-sided match, Cameroon scored through Bryan Mbeumo, Vincent Aboubakar, Christian Bassogog and Martin Hongla, while Michael Olunga scored a consolation goal for Kenya.

The result of the match saw Kenya taste their first defeat in the 2025 qualifiers (1M 1D) as they dropped from the top of the standings to third place with 4 points in Group J led by Cameroon with 7 points.

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Speaking ahead of the second leg, Engin Firat stated what the team needs to do to stop Cameroon.

“The biggest difference in the last game was aggressiveness. In any football match, the biggest and most important statistic is the lost ball duels.

If one team has 70% of ball duels lost/won, then we have a big problem. “We have to change things like this,” explained Firat.

He also acknowledged the quality of the West African team, describing them as one of the greatest football nations on the continent.

Harambee stars prepare to face Cameroon

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Meanwhile, captain Olunga told journalists that they will see a different Harambee Stars team on Monday.

“It was not an easy match for us. But of course we have to learn from the first leg match. We want to correct our mistakes and we want to go out and really play the football that Kenya deserves.

So, we have to come here with positive thoughts. We want to start the game strong. “In the last match we didn’t start strongly but we want to try to contain our opponents and get a positive result,” he commented.

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