All you need to know about the World Cup qualifier between Kenya and Ivory Coast
The fixture against the African champions comes only three days after Harambee Stars conceded a late goal to draw 1-1 against Burundi at the same venue.
Kenya had scored the opener through Duke Abuya but the Swallows ensured the points were shared after substitute Abdallah Sudi finished off a cross from Saidi Ntibazonkiza with five minutes left.
The outcome denied Kenya an opportunity to go level on points with Gabon, who suffered a 1-0 defeat against Ivory Coast in another close battle. Kenya are seeking to reach the first-ever World Cup under coach Engin Firat.
Against Burundi, a defensive mix-up by defender Daniel Anyembe allowed the Swallows to equalise and the right-back, who features for Danish Superliga club Viborg FF, apologised for his mistake. “We focus on the next game, a mistake is not a mistake until repeated,” Anyembe posted on his Facebook page.
Meanwhile, coach Firat said of Anyembe’s mistake: “He (Anyembe) ought to have kicked the ball out, that’s all, but sometimes players like to show they are controlling everything, these are the kinds of things you never see at the top level.”
When is the match and where?
The Group F World Cup qualifier has been scheduled for 16:00 (East African Time) on Tuesday, June 11th. With Kenya lacking a CAF/FIFA-approved stadium, the home match will be played at the Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe, Malawi.
This iconic Stadium, named after former Malawian president Bingu wa Mutharika, has a seating capacity of 41,000, making it the perfect place to host a variety of sporting events.
The Stadium hosted all four matches of the 2024 Four Nations tournament in March 2024 with Harambee Stars emerging overall winners after beating Zimbabwe 3-1 in the final. Kenya had won their group opener 4-0 against the hosts Malawi.
How to watch the match?
Kenya’s lead state TV, Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) will air the match live from Malawi. KBC aired the fixture against Burundi.
Form guide
While Kenya are in a run of three wins, one draw, and one defeat from their last five matches in all competitions, Ivory Coast have four wins and one draw.
In the five, Kenya lost 2-1 against Gabon, beat Seychelles 5-0, beat Malawi 4-0, beat Zimbabwe 3-1 before the 1-1 draw against Burundi.
On the other hand, Ivory Coast beat DR Congo 1-0, edged out Nigeria 2-1, drew 2-2 against Benin, beat Uruguay 1-0, and floored Gabon 1-0.
Kenya and Ivory Coast have never met in a competitive fixture before.
So far, Ivory Coast are leading the six-team group with nine points, while Kenya are third with four. Gabon, have six points and are second while Burundi are fourth with four points, the same number as Kenya with Gambia fifth with three following their 5-1 victory against Seychelles.
Team news
Harambee Stars will head into the fixture minus key players led by striker Masoud Juma. Having scored in Kenya’s 2-1 defeat against Gabon and the 5-0 win against Seychelles, Juma, who plays for Al-Jabalain FC, was ruled out of the two games owing to an injury.
Despite being named in the final squad of 25, defenders Joseph Okumu, who turns out for French Ligue 1 club Reims, and Erick Ouma, who plays for Ekstraklasa club Rakow Czestochowa, were later ruled out of the fixture against the Swallows after they failed to recover and are out of the game against the Elephants.
Winger Ayub Timbe will miss the fixture against Ivory Coast having picked up an injury on club duty. Bristol City defender Zak Vyner and defender Tobias Knost of SC Verl in Germany did not make their debuts after they failed to travel to Malawi owing to a lack of proper travelling documents.
Firat remained adamant on whether Vyner and Knost would be available to face Ivory Coast. “We made all tactical training with Vyner, if Zak was on the field (against Burundi), we would have won 100 per cent and won 2-0 minimum,” explained Firat.
“And sometimes people should stop to look at what is going on the field and everybody around should do their job. God knows if they will be available against Ivory Coast because I learnt here not to speak.”
Meanwhile, basking from successfully hosting and winning the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title after beating Nigeria 2-1 in the final, Ivory Coast under coach Emerse Fae, will have to do without Nottingham Forest defender Serge Aurier and Galatasaray winger Wilfried Zaha, as they were not included in the squad.
However, Seko Fofana, who scored the winner against the Panthers, would likely continue with his role with Sebastien Haller and Oumar Diakite leading the attacking line. Franck Kessie and Wilfried Singo are the other dangerous players for Ivory Coast.
Predicted XI for Kenya: Patrick Matasi, Johnstone Omurwa, Daniel Anyembe, Rooney Onyango, Baron Ochieng, Anthony Akumu, Richard Odada, Kenneth Muguna, Cliffton Miheso, Timothy Ouma, Michael Olunga.
Predicted XI for Ivory Coast: Yahia Fofana, Evan Ndicka, Emmanuel Agbadou, Odilon Kossounou, Ghislain Konan, Seko Fofana, Jean Michael Seri, Franck Kessie, Wilfried Singo, Sebastien Haller, Oumar Diakite.
