Kenya and Mali are two nations that have not frequently met in world football as only two encounters have been witnessed between them with the most recent coming back in 2004.Harambee Stars and The Eagles of Mali have only locked horns in the Africa Cup of Nations in the 2004 and 1972 editions with Kenya yet to win any.The best result is a 1-1 draw back in 1972 when Harambee Stars went on to finish third in Group A behind Cameroon and Mali who proceeded to secure second and third finishes respectively. Here is our travelling squad for our match against Mali in Morocco.🔗https://t.co/SDukysB9DO🏆 #FIFAWorldCupQualifiers🆚 Les Aigles 📅 Thursday, October 7, 2021🏟️ Grande Stade d’Agadir⌚ 10 pm EAT#Tunaweza pic.twitter.com/GIV5KZqTlj— Harambee Stars (@Harambee__Stars) October 4, 2021 To date that remains Mali best-ever finish in the continental tourney as they lost the title to DR Congo then known as Zaire.The first meeting was back on Thursday 26 February 1976 when Fantamady Keita scored for Mali at the stroke of halftime but Nicodémus Arudhi’s strike in the 60th minute was enough to earn Kenya a point.By then Harambee Stars were under the tutelage of German head coach Eckhard Krautzun who guided Kenya to their first-ever Africa Cup of Nations tournament despite taking the job at the tender age of 29.In the tournament, Kenya had a star-studded squad that included James Siang’a, Jonathan Niva, Allan Thigo and Peter Pelé Ouma to name a few. Kenya’s other point in the tournament came from Togo via a similar scoreline after Pelé Ouma netted for Harambee Stars and Edmond Apeti equalised in the second half. The two nations had to wait for 32 years for their next encounter which came in the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia that Mali won 3-1.Mohamed Sissoko broke the deadlock in the 28th minute while Titus Mulama equalized for Kenya in the 58th-minute, volleying in the ball from just inside the box.The Stars have landed. We are in #Morocco to play Mali in our third 2022 @FIFAWorldCup Qualifier#Tunaweza pic.twitter.com/wY6yVBkZhs— Harambee Stars (@Harambee__Stars) October 5, 2021 Kenya were however undone by the brilliance of former Sevilla forward Frédéric Kanouté who was at the time in the book of Tottenham Hotspur as he bagged a brace to seal victory for Mali.A third-place slot in Group B was all Kenya could afford as they finished behind Senegal and Mali following their infamous 3-0 win over Burkina Faso.The third encounter will be staged on Thursday 7 October at the Stade d’Agadir in Morocco after CAF failed to approve a stadium in Mali.
