Why Rising Stars Afcon fate hangs in the balance

The national football U20 side, Rising Stars, have their work cut out for them at the ongoing CAF U20 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt after losing their opening match to Morocco 3-2 on their debut last Thursday at the 30 June Stadium in Cairo.

Kenya surrendered their lead to suffer the narrow loss, leaving them with a difficult position where they must secure positive results against Tunisia and record champions Nigeria in the remaining Group B matches.

The defeat at the hands of the 1997 champions Morocco, means that Kenya has to secure wins in the remaining matches so as to keep the World Cup dream alive or prevent an early exit from the tournament at the very least.

Kenya, making their first appearance at the U20 AFCON since 1979, began the match brightly and were rewarded in the 16th minute when Lawrence Ouma rose highest to head home Kevin Injehu’s pinpoint free kick, sending the Kenyan bench into wild celebrations.

However, Morocco struck back just before the break. A scramble in the box saw Yassir Zabiri pounce with a well-placed finish that was eventually confirmed by VAR after initial doubts over a potential infringement. The equaliser sent the teams into halftime level at 1-1.

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The second half brought even more drama. Just ten minutes after the restart, Zabiri doubled his tally with a sharp header from close range to give Morocco the lead.

But Kenya weren’t done yet. Their vibrant forward play paid off in the 71st minute when Hassan Beja rifled in a shot from the centre of the box following clever link-up play with Aldrine Kibet, levelling the scores at 2-2.

Morocco, unfazed, kept pressing and reclaimed the lead in the 78th minute. Reda Laalaoui latched onto a clever pass from Saad El Haddad and slotted past the keeper with composure to make it 3-2.

There was late drama when Morocco were awarded a penalty in the 89th minute, but Othmane Maamma’s effort was saved by Kenyan keeper Baron Ochieng to keep hopes alive.

Kenya pushed for a third equaliser and came agonizingly close in stoppage time when Aldrine Kibet’s header struck the post. But Morocco held on for three crucial points to go top of the group.

Speaking after the match, Rising Stars assistant coach Anthony Akhulia rued missed chances and poor defending, rallying the team to improve before their next match.

“We played well but missed to fully maximize our chances. I believe we win the match easily if we had been clinical. The team's defense was not alert fully and we gave away two cheap goal. We need to rise and shift focus to the next game where we must be better,” said Akhulia.