THE STARS SET TO STAR IN LESOTHO

   Kenya national team Harambee stars posing for a photo in a past match.

The just concluded 2014 FIFA World Cup may have left you with some hangovers after maybe your team failed to meet your expectation or your favorite players misfiring in the tournament. This aside, it is now time we come back to our local platform as our national football team, Harambee Stars  prepare to battle it out with Lesotho  for  a spot in next year’s Africa Cup  of Nations to be held  in Morocco from 17^th  January to 8^th  February.

The national team departed to Lesotho today with high expectations of at least making it to the competition. The last time Kenya participated in the tournament was back in 2004 led by the current Football Kenya Federation (FKF)  Technical  Director Jacob Ghost Mulee as their coach, since then it has always been a dream for the national side as they fail to move past the qualifying stages.

Team News

Harambee stars will go into the match with good news after climbing the ladder of FIFA’s latest World ranking released today. The Stars have jumped 13 places up the table to 95^th position and a win against Lesotho will see our country move further up. However, the Stars’ camp is not short of bad news after several key players confirmed to be missing.  First choice keeper Arnold Origi and the country’s leading striker Dennis Oliech are among those to miss the clash after their clubs declined to release them citing the match does not fall on FIFA calendar.  Star striker Johanna Omollo who also scored in the previous round against Comoros is also set to miss the match.
Origi who plays for Lillestrom in Norwegian league expressed his disappointment on the Confederation of African Football for poor scheduling of its matches through his Facebook account ‘Confederation of African Football (Caf) should seriously think on how they plan and set-up their fixtures.’ ‘It's difficult to be released for games outside the dates set by FIFA for international matches. Really DISAPPOINTED to be missing this weekend’s AFCON qualifier.’ Oliech’s Ajaccio also refused to release the striker on the same grounds. The Stars’ will also be forced to play without head coach Adel Amrouche who is still serving his suspension after the ban against Comoros ruling him out for both legs.

Meanwhile, the Lesotho national team also shares the same fate with Kenya as most of their important players are set to miss the clash. Midfielders Ralekoti Mokhahlane and Motlalepula Mofolo as well as one of their top strikers Thapelo Tale are ruled out due to injuries picked from their friendly match against Botswana played on Monday. This will get well for the Harambee Stars as they look to capitalize on that to win the midfield battle.
Available players
Bandari goalkeeper Wilson Obungu has been called to replace Origi with Tusker’s Brian Osumba also included to in the list.
 Goalkeepers: Wilson Obungu, Jerim Onyango
 Defenders: James Situma, David Owino, Joackins Atudo, Dennis Odhiambo, Aboud Omar, Vincent Omumbo
Midfielders: Victor Wanyama, Francis Kahata, McDonald Mariga, Peter Opiyo, Stephen Ocholla, Brian Osumba
Forwards: Harrison Mwendwa, Paul Kiongera, Jacob Keli and Allan Wanga.

The match will be played at the Setsosto Stadium on Sunday starting 4pm Kenyan time with the return leg scheduled on August 2 in Afraha Stadium. The winner between the two after both legs will advance to group C which has Burkina Faso, Angola and Gabon waiting.

All the best for the stars.

NEW NAMES EXPECTED TO GLARE IN THE TRANSFER MARKET

The just concluded 2014 FIFA World Cup like any other tournament did not miss the show of new faces that took all followers of the game into surprise. This has definitely given them a cutting-age in the transfer market as clubs refurbish their squads in preparation for next season. The following is the list of leading candidates who will spark a splash of money from clubs aiming to get their services.

 James Rodriguez (Colombia,Monaco)

In the list leads the 2014 World Cup golden boot winner. The young striker never featured in the list of prospective top scorers for the competition,but now, he takes home one of the most competitive individual prize in the tournament having bagged 6 goals. His courage and fighting spirit is the reason the South American side made it to the quarters with superb goals in group stages and a brace against Uruguay in the last 16. Rodriguez joined AS Monaco FC in June 2013 from FC Porto and he will undoubtedly make a bigger chase in the market for European teams with Real Madrid reportedly  lined up for his chase.

Guillermo Ochoa (Mexico, Ajaccio)

The Mexican keeper has surprised many by his great diving skills and saving efforts with his best saves coming against Neymar and Netherlands. The entire Mexican team rallied behind the stopper who was the stumbling block to the opponents. Ochoa is currently a free agent after his contract expired at Ajaccio and this too will give bigger teams chance to get him with Liverpool among the clubs linked to get his signature. His Chilean counterpart Claudio Bravo (currently a Barcelona player) also had a wonderful display in the tournament despite leaving in the last 16, but lucky enough he has got a new club. 

 Marcos Rojo (Argentina, Sporting Lisbon)

The Argentine left-back has been impressive all through the tournament and has stood firm in his position. Always a threat when he overlaps and also have one goal in the competition. His defensive skills will also keep European's bigger sides at bay to get his services. 

Islam Slimani and  Faouzi Ghoulam (Algeria)

Sporting Clube de Portugal's Islam has proved lethal to most defenders in the competition, his two goals and good pace will give many clubs a run for their money. Fellow countryman Faouzi has also been solid in defense. He maintained his defense well and gave several opponents hard time for penetration including Belgium and the newly crowned champions Germany. The Napoli defender has attracted interests from Chealse whose first bid was reportedly rejected by the Italian side.

Musa Ahmed (Nigeria, CSKA Moscow)
Aged 21 years and indeed he has caught the attention of many football fans with his football skills. The Nigerian striker was instrumental against Argentina,netting a brace in a 2-3 loss and giving the attack life breath whenever he took the ball forward in most matches. He is expected to follow the steps of fellow countrymen Kanu,Okocha,Mikel among others with a possible move to the English premier league.

Divock Origi (Belgium, Lille)
At the age of 19, his stars are already shining as the Kenyan Born Striker now enjoys better moments in the early stages of his career. Origi who was named in the 23 man squad to represent Belgium did not fail to deliver on the bigger stage with his winning goal against Russia in the group stages earning the European side three vital points. Latest links point to Liverpool which are eager to bring the young man to Anfield.

Among other notable figures are Netherlands’ Melphys Depay, German’s Andre Schurrle, Costa Rica’s Joel Campbell and stopper Keylor Navas, Colombia’s Juan Cuadrado and midfielder Juan Quintero, Ecuador striker Enner Valencia, Nigerian, Beligium’s  among others . These too will attract great demands from European clubs in the elite leagues.

Is there any name missing in the list, feel free to add in the comment box below.

WORLD CUP 2014 -THE WEAK TEAMS

                                            

In every competition there must be winners and losers, however, what is more hurting is to be ranked among the weaker sides. This sparks doubts on the kind of preparation a team had prior to the tournament. With the competition already past its group stages heading into the quarterfinals, some teams have shown how weak and unprepared they were for these finals with an early exit from their groups. One may ask whether these teams were certain of the tournament before actually booking a flight to Brazil. Let’s have a look at the teams which deserved no slot in this cup: 

   Cameroon (0 points, 1 goal, GD -8)

It may be one of their weakest performances ever in any World Cup but the indomitable lions were no more than a name in this competition. This was one of the nations expected from Africa to shine and indeed I can’t hide the fact they were my best from Africa, but as it stood, they messed in everything lost it all and humbly bowed out. Leaving the competition with no points, only a goal to carry home looks shameful and awkward from the once African giants. Indeed this is not the Cameroon with green kits and red shorts that almost got every opponent scared when they took to the pitch. They flawed in maintaining discipline in all their three matches. The team had rich squad but failed to deliver. It was unfortunate missing their all-time top scorer and captain Samuel Eto’o in their last two matches due to injury but still other bigger names failed to take over. Barcelona’s Alex Song showed less of his professionalism and was red carded against Croatia. Benoit Assou- EKotto too could not stand up for his nation only to clash with fellow teammate Benjamin Moukandjo during their match with Croatia. How on earth with all his due respect and professionalism can he do that! More should be done to revive the team including sending their current coach packing. He gave nothing more than hopeless to the team. He failed as a coach to unite his team and there is no doubt his days are numbered. To me, this is the worse team in the tournamen.

   Honduras (0 points, 1 goal, GD -7)

Here comes another team which was sent out mercilessly, from group E. Suffering a 3-0 mauling by France before getting their lone goal in a 2-1 loss to Ecuador and finally paving the way for Switzerland with a 3-0 defeat. Unlike Cameroon, Honduras played with discipline however could not produce enough to earn even a point from their group. That was another poor performance from another team that should not have made it to the finals or at least needed more time to prepare.

 Australia (0 points, 3 goals, GD -6)

Another astonishing surprise came from Australia which too failed to garner even a single point from their group. They however displayed good games against Netherlands and Chile but could not keep up with their opponents. Although they had a tough group to pull through, they gave their best and came close to pulling a shocking win against the Dutch and also have one of the best goals in the tournament, an equalizer from Cahill in the match.

 Japan (1 point, 2 goals, GD -4)

This tournament will always stick on the Japanese minds for long, quitting at the group stages being that they were the first country to qualify for the finals. Much was expected from this side who boast of Honda and Kagawa but the best they could produce was a barren draw with the Greek. They suffered a 2-1 defeat to Ivory Coast and went on to receiving a 4-1 humiliation by Colombia in their final group game. Despite having more time to prepare as other teams were still competing for their chances, the Japanese team was short of what we all needed from them. 

 England (1 point, 2 goals, GD -2)

It is always the same story for the English side, struggling to find themselves with the bigger teams despite boasting of a wealthy squad.  A star-studded side with great players like Daniel Sturridge, Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerard, Garry Cahill, Glen Johnson, Sterling and Banes name them, were all but a shadow of their names as they were forced out of the competition with a single point to jet with back and two goals from Sturridge and Rooney. This team has always failed to impress their fans and this time they were forced to settle at the bottom of their group despite being one of the favorites to proceed to the next rounds The mystery of the team’s poor performance on bigger platforms seem not to have any solution but with emerging young stars, a better and more successful squad can be built for the coming competitions.

 Iran (1 point, 1 goal   GD -3)

Here comes the last team in my least that also deserved no allocation in the tournament. Although they managed to earn a point against Nigeria in a goalless draw, their game plan was not much effective. All they reminded me of was Mourinho, the king of that game. They played more of defensive and lacked the killer strikes in the final third. Whenever they play, one would tell they were always ready for a draw from the start. Failure to take their chances well led them to face an early exit from the competition. If indeed they will keep on playing like this, nothing will be expected from this Asian side too soon.