Kenya and rivals Uganda need to try and make up for recent disappointments after failing to qualify for the AFCON finals recently. Affectionately known as the Harambee Stars, Kenya will now start their road to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar with their first qualifying match at home to fellow African side Uganda.
As neighbouring countries, they will face each other in what is being billed as the 'Migingo Derby' on the 5th or 6th June in Kasarani. Both Cranes and the Kenyans were put together in Group E of the World Cup qualifying groups, and will also come against both Mali and Rwanda, with the top team in each group qualifying for the third qualifying stage.
The next match for the side led by Jacob Mulee is an away trip to take on Rwanda, with that game set to take place later this summer on the 12th or 13th of June. Kenya then have a few months break from World Cup qualification, before they take on Mali in West Africa in early September.
AFCON Qualification
The Harambee Stars will have their sights set on an improved campaign for the World Cup, especially after not qualifying for the Africa Cup of Nations finals which are set to take place in Cameroon. Kenya could only finish 3rd in Group G thanks to a tally of seven points, with Egypt making it to the finals, alongside the Comoros.
Egypt, also known as the Pharaohs, picked up 13 points from the qualifying six group matches, with the Comoros notching nine, with Togo landing bottom spot in the group after only managing to secure two points from their campaign.
Kenya boss, Jacob Mulee had told the media that Kenya would play every game with the aiming of winning it to try and top the group, but results meant that the Kenyans fell somewhere sort of that initial target.
Mulee told the media, "Regarding the World Cup qualifiers, we cannot rely on Fifa rankings; Mali are a good side, same with Uganda and we all know Rwanda are coming up well," the tactician said.
"All our opponents were part of the African Nations Championship, but looking at our team, players are hungry for success and it will play a massive role in helping us perform better.
"We will create a stronger team with the players who are playing abroad."
Kenya's Upcoming Fixtures
The experienced Kenyan boss, who is well known for his tactical nous, certainly has the known how to turn things around, despite the disappointments of AFCON qualification. He'll be hoping that Kenya's upcoming fixtures can help him to build on some positive recent results that include a 1-1 draw with Egypt and a 2-1 away victory over Togo.
Those upcoming fixtures include a good run of games between June and the middle of October, starting with a home tie against Uganda on the 5th or 6th June. From there, Kenya will travel to Rwanda on the 12 or 13th June, before kicking off their September fixtures away in Mali on the 3rd or 4th September.
They will then face Mali at home a week later, before travelling to Uganda on the 6th or 7th October, with Rwanda their final opponents of the October international window on the 11th or 12th October 2021.
2022 World Cup Betting
According to the latest betting for the 2022 World Cup Betting at freebets.com, Kenya are unlikely winners of the tournament at bigger than 5000/1 with no African side yet to lift the most famous trophy in the sport of football.
With the tournament set to be held close to the Christmas period in Qatar in 2022, Brazil are currently the joint 11/2 favourites with France. Germany are currently towards the head of the betting as 8/1 third favourites, while both England and Spain are available with most online bookmakers at around the 9/1 mark.
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