NAIROBI, Kenya, November 23, 2025 – Despite the superiority of Wydad Casablanca, Nairobi United technical director Salim Ali believes there is something that will work in their favour when they meet the African giants in the opening match of their Confederations Cup in Morocco on Sunday night.
Ali says they will look for any chinks in their opponents’ armour and exploit them to their advantage.
“We are meeting a very experienced team, very good forward line. If they have a very good forward line, it means that their defence is not that strong…they are weak. So we will try and counter their weakness and try and work hard on our strength. Of course, on our side we will try to defend very well,” the former Mathare and Sofapaka head coach said.
The optimism notwithstanding, Ali admitted that the three-time Champions League champions present the biggest test yet to the continental debutants who felled another giant – Tunisia’s Etoile du Sahel – on their way to the group stages of the prestigious competition.
The key to withstanding the hostile atmosphere at the 60,000-seater Stade Mohammed V Stadium, Ali believes, is for his charges to be switched on for 90 plus minutes.
“ A tough one, tight one…90 minutes of battle. Of course, if we put our concentration on top, then of course we’ll have a good result,” he said.
Coming into the fiery encounter, the Kenya Premier League newbies have prepared well to deal with the Red Castles.
Part of the training regime has been to train under floodlights, to familiarise themselves with the atmosphere to expect at the stadium, come Sunday night.
“I can say we are prepared enough. Coming all the way up to here means that we are prepared enough to face one of the biggest clubs in the world. I think the mood is good. You can see the players are warming up. We are trying to have that feeling of playing under floodlights,” the gaffer said.
Another key ingredient for their success is fans support for which Ali has asked for an overdose of the same.
“Keep faith in us. The most important thing is we’ve never let you guys down. We are working. It’s a group stage. It’s a tough one. We have six matches. We need all your support for the team. And I believe for the six matches, we’ll make you proud starting this on Sunday,” he said.
All players are available for selection save for Yusuf Mainge who will be out due to a suspension.
After Wydad, their next encounter will be against Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) AS Maniema in Nairobi, next Sunday.
