Ghana chase second win in AFCON qualifiers

Ghana will chase a second successive win in Group F of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers when they face Kenya at the Moi International Sports Complex Karasani in Nairobi on Saturday, 8 September 2018, kick-off at 15h00 CAT.

Ghana is sitting pretty at the top of the group after they opened their campaign with an impressive 5-0 home win over Ethiopia in June 2017. The Black Stars’ goal-scorers were Asamoah Gyan, John Boye, Ebenezer Ofori and Raphael Dwamena.

Kenya, meanwhile, is placed third after they suffered a 2-1 defeat away to Sierra Leone in Freetown. Julius Wobay and Umaru Bangura netted for the Lone Stars, while the East Africans’ consolation goal came from Michael Olunga.

Previous AFCON performance

The Black Stars have an impressive pedigree in the AFCON. They are four-time winners and have appeared in the last seven consecutive tournaments, reaching the semifinals on all but one occasion in that sequence.

Kenya’s AFCON heritage is less stellar, with the Harambee Stars appearing in just five tournaments and failing to advance beyond the first round each time. Their most recent finals appearance was in 2004, while their attempt to reach the last tournament in 2017 saw them finish bottom of a qualifying group which included Guinea-Bissau, Congo and Zambia.

Ghana’s last outing in international football was a 2-2 friendly draw with Iceland in early June, while Kenya suffered two losses to India and recorded a win over Chinese Tapei in an intercontinental tournament in the same month.

The Harambee Stars and Black Stars have met in three previous matches, according to FIFA’s statistics database. Each side has claimed one win, while one game was drawn. Their most recent meeting was a friendly in Nairobi in March 2005 which ended in a 2-2 draw.

Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah has courted controversy by omitting several big-name players from his squad for this clash, including the Ayew brothers, Asamoah Gyan, Mubarak Wakaso and Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu.

Kenya mentor Sébastien Migné will be hoping Tottenham Hotspur player Victor Wanyama is fit and ready for the clash against the Black Stars.

Kenya v Ghana – Head-to-Head

Matches played 3
Kenya wins 1
Ghana wins 1
Draws 1

Kenya | L | W | L | W | W
Ghana | D | W | D | D | W