Retired Kenyan international Jockins Atudo believes having a strong defence is one of the easiest ways for Harambee Stars to bag a ticket to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).After missing the past two editions, Stars will be hoping for a positive start in the hunt for a return ticket to the continental showpiece when they take to the field on Friday. Stars were excluded from the qualifiers for the 2023 finals, held in Ivory Coast early this year, and failed to punch a ticket for the 2021 showpiece staged in Cameroon.##NAJAVA_MECA_8316323##The team is placed in pool J of the qualifiers alongside five-time champions Cameroon, Namibia, and Zimbabwe, who were also locked out of the previous qualifiers thanks to FIFA suspension.Kenya last graced the biannual event in 2019 in Egypt and will kick off the scramble for the available two tickets in the group against Zimbabwe.Atudo, who hung up his boots three years ago, said a strong defence, especially when playing away matches, worked well in 2019 and had long been proven to be the best way of qualifying for tournaments.2025 AFCONq: Tanzania open the qualifiers with a goalless drawAtudo, who could easily slot in at right back and at the heart of the defence during his active years, said the team had demonstrated that scoring wasn’t a challenge and called on the technical bench to fix all loopholes at the back ahead of the first game.”In 2019, a solid defence won us an important point in foreign territory. The teams that have been gracing the tournament regularly have been conceding very few goals. The team has good goal scorers who can get us goals anytime,” the former Posta Rangers defender told SportsBoomAtudo’s thoughts were backed by veteran midfielder Dennis Odhiambo, who was part of the team that qualified and played in the finals in Egypt.#HarambeeStars vs 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe📆 Friday, September 6, 2024🕐 4 pm EAT🏟️ Stade Mandela National Stadium pic.twitter.com/V0nocTfmoC— Harambee Stars (@Harambee__Stars) September 3, 2024 Odhiambo, who pulled out of retirement in February for a move to Murang’a Seal, insisted on mounting a strong defence in away matches and capitalizing on scoring chances.During the 2019 qualifiers, Kenya conceded a single goal in the campaign despite coming up against strong opponents like former champions Ghana and Ethiopia.”The last time we qualified, our defence was so strong that we conceded just a goal. With Michael Olunga upfront, we are assured of goals, and thus, our worry should be how best we can defend,” Odhiambo said.How shrewd contract negotiation added Ksh100,000 to Makwata’s salary at AFC Leopards
