Harambee Stars’ 2025 AFCON Dream Ends After Draw With Zimbabwe

• Harambee Stars 2025 Africa Cup of Nations journey has come to an end after drawing with Zimbabwe
• Kenya needed to beat the Warriors to stand a chance of reaching the tournament but will now watch it from home
• Five-time champions Cameroon and Zimbabwe are the teams from Group J that have qualified

Harambee Stars dream of playing at the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations are over after a frustrating draw with Zimbabwe.

Kenya made a positive start in the first half but struggled to create chances.

Engin Firat's side will start preparing for the 2027 edition following their setback in South Africa.

Zimbabwe vs Kenya report

In the 31st minute, seconds after Ronney Onyango had missed a golden opportunity, Zimbabwe opened the scoring.

Goalkeeper Washington Arubi's quick thinking saw Zimbabwe go on a swift counterattack, which was expertly finished by Tawanda Maswanhise.

The Warriors went into the break with a slim 1-0 lead which was cancelled minutes into the second half.

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A scramble in Zimbabwe's goal saw Jonah Ayunga slot past Arubi after Zimbabwe failed to clear the loose ball. Kenya couldn't find a winner in the second half.

Kenya needed to beat Zimbabwe and Namibia to qualify for the tournament.

Missed opportunity for Kenya?

They last played in the tournament in 2019 and have only played in two AFCONs in 30 years.

Their back-to-back defeats to Cameroon put a serious dent in their campaign. They were top of the group after the first two matches, but they were no match for the Indomitable Lions. One win could've helped them reach the tournament in Morocco.

The good news is Kenya will play in the 2027 tournament as one of the hosts.

Another major talking point among fans will be the coach, Engin Firat. He is in his third year as Harambee Stars coach, and results haven't met expectations.

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It remains to be seen if he will be the coach after they play Namibia in their final Group J match next week.

Libya national team in crisis

In another report, Briefly News reported that Libya will play Rwanda at the Amahoro Stadium in Kigali before hosting Benin Republic at the Martyrs of February Stadium in Benghazi to wrap up their qualifying campaign.

According to Libya Akhbar, head coach Nasser Al-Hadhiri has cried out after some top players withdrew from the team for different reasons ahead of the decisive games.

Source: TUKO.co.ke