Timbe will be used sparingly, says Migne ahead of squad naming

Timbe will be used sparingly, says Migne ahead of squad naming

Swila Isaac in Cairo, Egypt

Harambee Stars head coach Sebastien Migne is expected to name his starting eleven for their Africa Cup of Nations Group C opener against Algeria tomorrow morning.

The Stars launch their campaign with a tricky looking fixture against the Desert Foxes, the match set to kick off from 10pm at the 30 June Stadium here in Cairo, and the French man says that he’ll settle on the first eleven after an evening training session set for today from 9pm.

“We will be ready to compete. I’ll wait for the training of tonight to know and to think about my first eleven for tomorrow,” he said at Saturday’s pre-match press briefing flanked by his skipper Victor Wanyama.

Migne however reckons that creative winger Ayub Timbe will not feature in the match in its entirety as he is coming from an injury that led to a surgery.

“For Ayub it’s special because he had a surgery before the competition, it was a race to try bringing him here fit and he showed that in the friendly games,” he said. “He was not far to be available, maybe not for 90 minutes but for one hour he will be important for us.”

At the same time Harambee Stars skipper Victor Wanyama says they’re not under pressure ahead of the clash but is aware of the enormity of the task at hand.

“I think there is no pressure. Pressure was there when we wanted to qualify, and now is the time to go out and enjoy ourselves and show the people we’re no pushovers .We had a good camp and we’re ready to battle,” said Wanyama who will carry the weight of an expectant nation on his broad shoulders when he leads the team onto the pitch tomorrow.

Going into the match Kenya are deemed as the underdogs due to their profile.

Algeria who boast of amongst others Manchester City winger Riyad Mahrez in its rank are placed at position 68, 37 places above Kenya who are at position 105 in the Fifa grid.

However the rankings will play no role in the game tomorrow as each team seeks to have a flying start to bolster their chances of getting out of the group, and Mahrez is cautious ahead of the game.

“Kenya is a strong team, we can’t underrate them so we have to be at our best,” the Algerian winger said at the press briefing through a translator.

Perhaps being genuine or playing mind games, Algerian coach Djamel Belmadi elected in his presser to shower the Stars with praises terming them a “tough team”.

He said: “I know Kenya is a tough team. It will not be an easy game, and that is for sure. We know all the players, we know the team perfectly, we are not going to take this easy, it’s difficult to score against them, they are defending very well and the game will be very difficult.”

In another Group C match, Senegal’s Lions of Teranga, the top ranked African team by Fifa at position 22 will collide with Tanzania at the same venue from 7pm.

Tags:

kenya Harambee Stars Algeria Riyad Mahrez squad Sebastien Migne Ayub Timbe AFCON2019

Want to send us a story? Submit on Wananchi Reporting on the Citizen Digital App or Send an email to wananchi@royalmedia.co.ke or Send an SMS to 25170 or WhatsApp on 0743570000

Leave a Comment

Comments

No comments yet.

latest stories