NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 6 – In 2019, midfielder Teddy Akumu was dropped from the Harambee Stars final squad that travelled to Egypt, the last time Kenya played at the Africa Cup of Nations. He had been part of the training group till the final camp in Marcoussis, France, but didn’t make the final 23 to Cairo.
The former Gor Mahia midfielder remembers vividly the pain of missing out on what is every player’s dream, representing their countries at the highest stages.
“I am hungry to qualify for the Cup of Nations. I remember in 2019, I was there, but I missed out on the chance to be in the final team. This is another opportunity for me and I am ready to give my best to ensure we can qualify,” Akumu said.
He added; “I believe we can make it because if you look at the group we have, there are so many good players and we have so much support to make this dream come true.”
Kenya starts the qualification journey Friday evening in Kampala, Uganda, when they play Zimbabwe. The country is also pooled with Namibia, who they play next Tuesday in South Africa, as well as Cameroon.
“It is a tough group but we are ready for it. We will take each match as a final and give our best. It will be important for us to win our first game (against Zimbabwe) because it will give us a good footing into the rest of the matches,” Akumu says.
He adds; “We are playing away which is not very good for us but it is the situation we find ourselves in and we have to give our best. We will do the best we can to win.”
The midfielder believes the momentum the team has picked up in the last few international matches will be good enough to push them into the game against Zimbabwe, despite having less than a week of training together.
