Kenya Under-17 have mountain to climb against Cameroon

The national Under-17 football team tackle Cameroon on Saturday in the return leg of the Africa Under-17 Cup of Nations qualifier at the Safaricom Stadium in Kasarani.

The Harambee Stars junior side lost 7-0 in the first leg match on August 6 in Yaoundé, and the team’s technical bench admits that they is no hope of overturning this result.

Coach Andreas Spier however says that the match will be just another opportunity to evaluate the players with the aim of finding ways of transforming the team into a formidable side in the near future.

“This is not a team for today. It is a work in progress. In fact, we are not so interested in the results of this match. We are more concerned with knowing the strengths and flaws of our players, to know what could work for them and what doesn’t so that we can create a strong team out of it,” Spier said Thursday.

ZAMBIA DISQUALIFIED

“It is a very young team, less than three months old, and I hope that we shall have more of such opportunities so that the boys can get the necessary exposure.”

As part of their preparations for this tournament, the national junior team took part in the Cosafa Under-17 championship in Port Louis, Mauritius where they finished in fourth position.

The team had been eliminated in the group stages, but they were allowed to compete in the semi-finals at the expense of Zambia, who were disqualified for fielding over age players.

The Kenyan team advanced to this second round of the Africa Under-17 Cup of Nations after their opponents Malawi withdrew from the competitions due to lack of funds.

The finals of the Cup of Nations junior tournament will be held in Madagascar early next year.