Just under three days after a thorough humbling in Yaounde, Harambee Stars looked to set things right against Cameroon in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier hosted at Mandela Stadium in Namboole.In this tactical analysis, we look to decipher how both teams changed their tactical approaches in this return leg fixture.Stars displayed considerable improvement from the 4-1 trouncing but a sumptuous free-kick from Enow Boris was the difference between the two sides.Coach Engin Firat opted for a completely different central defensive pairing and goalkeeper, making a total of four changes before kick-off.##NAJAVA_MECA_8412314##Bandari shot-stopper Bryne Omondi replaced the erratic Patrick Matasi in between the sticks.Joseph Okumu and Johnstone Omurwa partnered in central defence with Eric Ouma and Daniel Anyembe manning the left and right flanks respectively.Anthony Akumu, Richard Odada and Duke Abuya all started in midfield. Michael Olunga led the line with Rooney Onyango playing on the right wing as John Avire was picked over Timothy Ouma to play on the left wing.Cameroon head coach Marc Brys made two changes to his side; all injury-enforced. Jean-Charles Castelleto started over Christian Wooh who he similarly came off for early in the first fixture.Pierre Kunde also came on for Charles Baleba who was stretchered off with an injury in the first fixture.Firat came into this game being well aware of what had gone wrong in the first leg, the ease with which Cameroon created numerical superiority in the central areas and how they found the wingers in behind.To counter this, Firat set the side up in a 1-4-4-1-1 formation, looking to go man for man in midfield, the backline, especially the fullbacks, who were more reserved in this game, looking to basically go man for man against the wingers.In the high block, Kenya looked to force Cameroon to one side, working to shuffle them into the wide areas- as mentioned earlier, while going man for man in midfield, Cameroon struggled to get into any rhythm for central progression. AFCON qualification hopes are over-Harambee Stars fans react to defeat against CameroonWhen Kenya dropped lower into the mid/low block, they morphed into a compact 1-4-5-1 formation, denying spaces between the lines and looking to double team in the wide areas.This structure needed a lot of discipline from the players, especially in the wide areas as any rush in stepping out would result in space for the Cameroonians to exploit in behind.Cameroon on their end, tweaked their structure in possession too, looking to sacrifice a player in attack and to have a rest in defence of 3-1, unlike their bold 2-1 rest defence structure in Yaounde.In the buildup phase, unlike in Yaounde where it was a 1-2-1-4-3, the Indomitable Lions went 3-1-3-3 shape in Kampala with, left-back Nouhou Tolo looking to stay deeper.This was to work in two ways. In possession, it was to draw the Kenya right-winger out to create space for 1v1 isolation for Bassogog.While out of possession, it was to create room for hitting Kenya on the counter. The right-back Jackson Tchoatchoua provided width on the right-hand side with Bryan Mbeumo operating in the right half-space while Zambo Anguissa and Martin Hongla operated between the lines, gravitating to the ball side.In the progression phase, Cameroon looked to take up a 2-3-2-3 shape, causing initial problems with Anguissa, Tchouatchoua and Mbeumo combining neatly.Firat yet to give up on Harambee Stars 2025 AFCON qualificationHowever, the compactness and discipline out of possession frustrated Cameroon, especially their inability to find players in central areas.Midfielder Pierre Kunde was struggling in possession, leading to a lot of back passes to his centre-backs, which was the pressing trigger from Kenya.Kunde’s struggles in progressing play forced Anguissa and Hongla to drop deeper to create space and push Kunde higher.Cameroon were a major threat when the in-between-the-line players, dropped and dragged markers out to create space for the ball in behind, this drew a very good save from Omondi in the Kenyan coach from a Pierre Kunde effort.AFCON2025Q:Substitute Enow Takang sinks Harambee Stars in UgandaIn the second half, Kunde was duly subbed off for left-footed Enow Boris, a move that helped Cameroon keep the ball better.In order Kenya also tried pushing numbers higher up the pitch to get more action in the opponent’s half. As the game opened up, Cameroon started getting chances in behind for Bassogog and Tchouatchoa to find room to cross.It was a much better showing for Kenya who still remain on four points in the group.
