- Harambee Stars sits second in the table at the moment with four points from two matches.
- The final of the 2025 Mapinduzi Cup is planned to be played on Monday, January 13.
- The winners of the tournament will be awarded Ksh 6.25 million in prize money.
The Kenya men’s football team Harambee Stars are set to lock horns with Zanzibar in their final group match at the ongoing 2025 Mapinduzi Cup tournament on Friday night.
Harambee Stars will be aiming to collect the three points and qualify for the final that is scheduled to be played on Monday, January 13.
The Francis Kimanzi-coached side currently occupy first position in the four-team table with four points from two matches.
Kenya started the tournament with a painful 1-1 draw with Burkina Faso in a fixture that saw the latter finding an equalizer in the dying stages of the match before hammering Tanzania 2-0 on Tuesday, January 7.
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Tusker FC ace Ryan Ogam and his Ulinzi Stars counterpart Boniface Muchiri were on the score sheet in the tie against the Kilimanjaro Stars while James Kinyanjui scored in the draw with Burkina Faso.
On the other hand, Zanzibar, who sit third in the standings with three points, have also had an encouraging tournament.
They began their campaign with a 1-0 win over their neighbors Tanzania before narrowly losing 1-0 to Burkina Faso.
Harambee Stars’ camp express optimism ahead of Friday’s showdown
Despite Zanzibar’s threat, Harambee Stars defender Daniel Sakari is confident that they will register the needed outcome and proceed to the final round of the tournament.
“We have seen our performance curve from the start. We started with a draw and then we picked up a win, so I think, we expect nothing less than a win.
We want the curve to continue going high because we are building up for the tournament we are waiting for, that’s CHAN.
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In the camp, the morale is high and everybody wants a positive result. Positive in the way that we must make it to the final,” he stated.
On his part, Kimanzi heaped praise on his players for the good work that they have done since he started working with them.
According to the 48-year-old, who has previously had managerial stints with clubs like Mathare United, Wazito and Tusker, the team is improving on a daily basis.
“We have been working so hard in every single game since we arrived here and the readiness that we are talking about is that we are getting even stronger after every match.
The way we are responding to every match, we are very satisfied with the behavior and the character of our players. That is the preparation we are talking about, so we are getting better and better and tougher as the matches progress,” he commented.
Harambee Stars vs Zanzibar head-to-head record
Kenya has a better head-to-head record compared to their opponents going into this important match.
Harambee Stars has only lost once in the hands of Zanzibar and secured four wins in the eight occasions that they have played against each other in recent years.
The latest encounter between the two sides that took place in 2019 ended 1-0 in favor of Harambee Stars.
A win for Harambee Stars on Friday will increase their chances of returning home with the whopping Ksh 6.25 Million prize money that the organizers have set aside.
However, should they suffer a defeat against the hosts in the game that is expected to be played at the Gombani Stadium from 7:00 PM East African Time, they will play against Tanzania in their third-position decider.
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