Harambee Stars coach Adel Amrouche has refused to take anything for granted against Comoros even though his Harambee Stars will be hugely favoured to prevail against the Indian Ocean island nation when they clash at Nyayo stadium on Sunday in the first leg of the first round of qualifiers for the Orange Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2015.
“There are no longer small teams in African football. Depending on how well you prepare it is possible to get positive results against any team. Recently, Comoros drew 1-1 against Burkina Faso in a friendly and so we cannot afford to underrate them,” Amrouche told Cafonline.com.
Comoros are currently placed 193 on the FIFA rankings. Their best ranking was 164 achieved in 2011. Kenya is ranked 106.
Amrouche has also expressed frustration that a good number of foreign-based players are yet to join the team. On Wednesday, the Harambee Stars moved training to Nyayo Stadium, venue of Sunday’s match, and had only two foreign based – striker Dennis Oliech and David ‘Cheche’ Ochieng – in training.
“Of-course any coach would be concerned that with days before an international match you don’t have your best players. However, we have to do with what we have. I expected to have a full house by today since most leagues in Europe are over and we had notified them a month before we reported to camp. This has affected my preparation but I will work with the players that I have at the moment if they come well and good.”
Amrouche also expressed disappointment that Kenyan born Divock Origi has opted to play for Belgium after he was named in the 2014 World Cup squad.
“It is his personal decision and we have to respect it. However, we would have wanted to have him in the Kenyan team. I think he still has the country at heart and his decision should give us the opportunity to go and look for other talented players who can represent us at this level.
Amrouche has been an admirer of the Lille forward and made efforts in the past to convince him to play for Harambee Stars.
Fixtures
Saturday, 17 May 2014
Malawi vs Chad
Sao Tome e Principe vs Benin
Namibia vs Congo
Mauritania vs Equatorial Guinea
Sunday, 18 May 2014
Central African Republic vs Guinea Bissau
Swaziland vs Sierra Leone
Mozambique vs South Sudan
Madagascar vs Uganda
Burundi vs Botswana
Tanzania vs Zimbabwe
Liberia vs Lesotho
Kenya vs Comoros
Libya vs Rwanda
Confederation of African Football (CAF) News
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