- Harambee Stars vs Equatorial Guinea is a FIFA international friendly scheduled for Friday, November 14.
- The match will be played at the Emir Complex in Antalya, Turkey.
- Kick-off is set for 6:00 PM EAT.
The Harambee Stars will face Equatorial Guinea on Friday evening at the Emir Complex in Antalya, Turkey for FIFA International Friendly clash, with kickoff slated for 6 PM East African Time (EAT).Â
This marks just the second time the two nations are meeting; the first encounter ended in a 1-0 victory for Kenya in 2018, thanks to Piston Mutamba’s goal.
The Nzalang Nacional, currently ranked 99th in the world, are using the two friendly matches against Kenya and Madagascar as build-up matches towards the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), just over a month away in Morocco.
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Harambee Stars vs Equatorial Guinea preview
Equatorial Guinea are placed in Group E alongside Algeria, Burkina Faso, and Sudan.
The Harambee Stars, ranked at 109th globally, will be using the match against Equatorial Guinea and later, Senegal, to gauge their squad with very many new faces included.
Equatorial Guinea’s Interim coach, Casto Nopo, named a strong squad for the friendly matches, with a huge chunk being foreign-based players. Among the notable names included are:
Pedro Obiang (Serie A side Monza), Oscar Macarell (RCD Mallorca in Spain) and Santiago Eneme (Sparta Prague).
For the Harambee Stars team, it features a blend of experience and first-timers. This international break sees a return of Ovella Ochieng’ and Teddy Akumu to the setup, while Aldrine Kibet, Kevin Otiende, and Bryton Onyona are included for the very first time.
The Nzalang Nacional head into the game with a worrying record: they have won just one of their last six international friendlies, drawing three and losing two.
Overall, in the last ten matches, they have won two, drawn four, and lost four. They only scored more than one goal against lowly ranked Sao Tome and Principe.
Harambee Stars, on the other hand, have only lost one of their last six friendly matches, a 1-0 defeat to Zanzibar in a dramatic game earlier this year. They won three and drew two of those matches.
Under coach Benny McCarthy, the team’s overall form in the last ten games is a mixed bag of six wins, three losses, and two draws.
Harambee Stars vs Equatorial Guinea what was said before the clash
Ahead of the match, Harambee Stars assistant coach Vasili Manoukis said the friendly matches will offer a platform for the young players to get some minutes:
“It is an opportunity for the upcoming and new players to get a chance and perform because it is a friendly match and there is no pressure.
Two very strong opponents that are preparing for AFCON, so we definitely got our work cut out for us. We’ve taken a little bit of a different approach; while they’re focusing on Afcon, we focus on the development of a new crop of players,” the South African said.
Harambee Stars will conclude the international window by taking on Senegal on November 18 in the same city of Antalya.
