Coach Kamau unbowed despite tough CHAN draw

Harambee Stars interim Assistant Coach John Kamau  believes Kenya can pull a surprise  in the CHAN 2024 tournament, despite being drawn in what he calls the group of death.

Kenya was pooled alongside two-time winners Morocco and DR. Congo; Zambia and Angola in Group A during the tournament’s draw conducted on Wednesday in Nairobi.

According to Kamau, Kenya can take full advantage of the delayed tournament, to prepare in the finest way possible and match the African powerhouses in their group.  

“We just need to put everything in order and we will give a good account of ourselves because this is a platform for the players and technical team to showcase what they have, and I think we have what it takes,” noted the Mathare United coach, in an interview soon after the draw.

The tournament was set to kick off on February 1 this year, but has been pushed to August by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to give more time for the hosts to complete stadia renovations.

It is that window of the remaining seven months that Kamau, a former Kenya U-20 Head Coach, wants to be utilised well. Kamau knows the importance of instilling a strong mentality in the Stars squad, having watched his charges in the recent Mapinduzi Cup in Zanzibar.

“One objective of the tournament (Mapinduzi Cup) was to assemble a team and we did that. It was a good challenge for us to know if the players have the mentality to be in that kind of tournament and I think we are happy with what we saw.

“These are high-profile matches, CHAN will be a tournament where almost the whole of Africa will be and for such a tournament, it is not just the technical and tactical aspect, you also need to have character," he added.

At the same time, former Ugandan midfielder Hassan Wasswa has backed Kenya to make it past the group stage of the fiesta, despite being pooled with African giants.

“We really have the backup of our fans, government and all people around East Africa. This time round you will be able to see miracles happening in the CHAN tournament.”

“If we will be able to work hard ,I can  see all host teams progressing to the next round,” he added.