Kenya/Angola: Mariga Sees Victory Over Angola

Sammy Kitula

29 March 2011

Abuja — Harambee Stars midfielder MacDonald Mariga has predicted Kenya will overcome Angola in the return leg of the African Cup of Nations qualifier in June.

The Inter Milan midfielder, whose second yellow card in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Angola keeps him out of the Luanda tie said his absence won’t affect the team’s performance.

“The team is developing with every match and there are other players who can do duty for the country,” said Mariga upon arrival in Abuja for a friendly match against Nigeria on Tuesday night.

“The only way of ensuring our qualification is to win all our remaining matches (against Angola and Uganda (away) and at home against Guinea Bissau).”

Kenya lies second in group 10 on four points, three adrift leaders Angola.

Guinea Bissau are third with three points, same as the 2006 World Cup side, Angola, who have an inferior goal difference.

Harambee Stars might take solace in the fact that CAN defending champions Egypt are in a very precarious position, last in group seven. The Pharaohs have only one point from a possible nine. They drew 1-1 with Sierra Leone and lost 0-1 to minnows Niger. They also lost by the same margin last weekend against South Africa.

“Football is very interesting, as there’s nothing difficult to achieve. Don’t be shocked when you hear that they have qualified for the CAN,” said Stars’ head coach Zedekiah Otieno.

At the same time, after 17 years of service to the nation, former captain of the Super Eagles, Nwankwo Kanu has declared that he is a fulfilled man as he looks forward to his testimonial match in Lagos to officially end his international soccer career.

The testimonial match between Kanu and Friends (a selected World XI) and the Nigerian national team has been slated for June 11, 2011 in Lagos.

Kanu’s friends, mostly his former teammates from Ajax, Inter Milan, Arsenal, West Brom and Portsmouth along with some selected star players will face a Nigerian All Star team dating from the Super Eagles teams of 1993/94, the Olympic Gold medal winning team of 1996, and some players of the current Eagles squad who played with Kanu.

Among the notable soccer stars who are expected to grace the event are Patrick Vieira, , Ronaldo, Cameroon’s Samuel Eto’o, Togolese Emmanuel Adebayor among others.

This will be a special day for him and his charity organisation, the Kanu Heart Foundation (KHF) as the proceeds of the event will be used to pursue the objectives of the Foundation which is largely to assist Africans particularly children in the treatment of heart related ailments.

“It is going to be a great day and event, everybody will be there and it’s going to be a roll-call of World’s best players, a roll-call of ‘who is who in world football,” he said as his national team prepared to entertain Harambee Stars for the Fifa international friendly match at the Abuja National Stadium.

“Some of my friends are planning to have a testimonial match in my honour in June. I think after 17 years in the national team, they appreciate what I have done and want to give me a befitting send off.”

AllAfrica – All the Time