NAIROBI, Kenya, November 12 – National football team head coach Engin Firat is targeting maximum points from their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations double-header against Zimbabwe and Namibia.
Firat says he is conscious of the threat posed by the two southern African sides but insists this won’t distract them from their mission.
“Till now, Zimbabwe are yet to concede a goal whereas Namibia, even though they don’t have a point yet, that just goes to show you the quality of our group. Namibia, in their World Cup qualifiers, they are second in their group. We are aware of how strong these two teams but it doesn’t change the fact that we want to win,” the Turk said.
The gaffer expects both teams to deploy a low block for which Harambee Stars have a few tricks up their sleeves to unlock them.
“They will play against us very deep and will not open the game. Zimbabwe have a lot of quality players playing in the Serie A, Premier League and French Ligue 1 and they have a full squad; nobody is missing. Therefore, we know we have to pressure…we have to push. We also have our ideas on how to open up these teams and to exploit their weaknesses,” Firat said.
Stars face the Warriors of Zimbabwe on Friday at the New Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane before squaring up to Namibia on Tuesday at the same venue.
They drew 0-0 with the Zimbabweans in the first leg of Group J in Kampala on September 6 before defeating the Brave Warriors of Namibia 2-1 in Johannesburg, three days later.
Regarding their decision to play both matches in South Africa, Firat says it is down to the challenges of travelling back upwards to Uganda for their home fixture against the Namibians.
“There is only one flight from Polokwane to Johannesburg and that means that Namibia would even arrive earlier than us in Uganda. Considering there is only a three-day break between Zimbabwe and Namibia, it would really mess us up were we to travel all the way back to Uganda. That’s why it is much better to play both matches here in South Africa,” he said.
Desperate lift needed
Kenya lie third in Group J with four points from four matches, having lost 5-1 on aggregate to Cameroon in their last two fixtures in October.
It has been a difficult month for Stars who also suffered a 3-1 defeat to South Sudan in the Africa Nations Championships (CHAN) qualifier.
Nonetheless, Firat is focused on forging a united team that makes the best use of their skills to grind out positive results.
“We are trying to find what is best for the team because the reality is we don’t have top players plying their trade in the top leagues of Europe. Therefore, it is very important for us to have a united team and this is like a puzzle…we are trying to put the best players for these games, together,” he said.
Maximum points from South Africa will propel Stars closer to qualification for Afcon 2025, set for Morocco.
Cameroon lead the group with 10 points and have already booked their ticket whereas Zimbabwe lie second with 8 points.
