Impossible is nothing, says Okumbi on AFCON chances

Harambee Stars head coach Stanley Okumbi issuing instructions in a past training session .PHOTO/Raymond Makhaya.

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 14- Harambee Stars head coach Stanley Okumbi is confident Kenya can qualify for the 2019 African Cup of Nations in Cameroon if the team gets the basics right as far as preparations are concerned.

Stars have been pooled alongside four-time champions Ghana, neighbors Ethiopia and Sierra Leone in Group F of the qualifiers which begin in June.

“It might look like a tough group, but I am a believer that anything is possible. Impossible is nothing,” a bullish Okumbi told Capital Sport.

He added; “The basic and most important thing is how we prepare for it. If we prepare well and do our things in the right way, then there is no reason why we can’t qualify.”

Stars have no recent competitive history with either Ghana or Sierra Leone, but that is no problem for Okumbi who says the work will be scouting them and looking at their potential strong areas to ensure they are ready.

With Ethiopia though, Kenya has met the neighbors severally, their last meeting being at the 2016 African Nations Championship (CHAN) qualifiers which Ethiopia won 2-0.

“We can’t look at the past. We have a new generation of players and a new way of doing things so we can’t rely on what happened in the past to look at our game against them. For Sierra Leone and Ghana, we need to do our homework well to analyze how we will approach them,” Okumbi added.

Ghana might seem the hard nut to crack in the group, but basing on their recent performances against neighbors Uganda and Rwanda, then Okumbi’s dreams of picking the lone group ticket ahead of the West Africans might not be a far-fetched idea.

Kenya whose last appearance at the Nations Cup was in 2004 begin their quest for a return with an away tie to Sierra Leone.

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