Is playing away from home a blessing in disguise for Harambee Stars?

Former Harambee Stars players believe that playing the forthcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers against Burundi and Ivory Coast away from home is somewhat a blessing in disguise.

Kenya will host the two matches on June 7 and 11 respectively at the Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe, Malawi due to the lack of a stadium that is FIFA-accredited at the moment.

Both the Nyayo and Kasarani stadia are closed for renovations as the country gears towards being ready for the African Nations Championship (CHAN) and the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

Losing home advantage in a World Cup qualifier could easily be viewed and deemed unfortunate but some ex-Kenyan internationals have different thoughts.

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Benefits of Playing Away

Former striker Allan Wanga says playing home matches away from home will relieve pressure off the shoulders of the players.

Wanga, who hanged his boots in September 2021, disclosed that much as playing at home gives the host an advantage, it tags along with massive pressure to impress the crowd.

"Home matches are full of pressure. When you walk through the tunnel to a full stadium, as a player the last thing you can wish is to disappoint them.

Much as I feel bad for the Kenyan fans, playing in Malawi will somehow help our players to express themselves without subjecting themselves under pressure," the former Al Merreikh striker told Sportsboom.com.

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Ivory Coast are the deemed favourites by virtue of the quality their squad possesses and given that they won the AFCON earlier in the year on home soil.

The Elephants are also clear favourites to top Group F of the qualifiers on paper, but Wanga feels that with astute planning, Stars can easily match them and even book a ticket to the finals that will be jointly hosted by the United States of America, Canada and Mexico.

Wanga, who raked in tens of caps during his active years, says the time Stars have spent in camp is long enough to plot for positive results in Malawi.

"Good planning will easily get us points against the two opponents. The team has been in camp for some good time which is a positive thing.

If we organize ourselves well on and off the pitch, we will reap good results. It has been proven that there are no longer underdogs in football," said the former AFC Leopards captain.

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Recent Successes in Away Matches

Wanga's school of thought was backed by his fellow ex-international James Situma who alluded that the results Stars had secured in last year's high-profile friendly matches were a testament that playing away from home had its own benefits.

Last year, Kenya came up against top opponents in friendly matches, among them the 2022 and 2018 World Cup hosts Qatar and Russia respectively.

Stars beat Qatar 2-1 in Doha before holding Russia to a 2-2 draw in a game played in Turkey.

Additionally, Stars had a good outing on Malawian soil in the March FIFA international week where they beat the host nation 4-0 in the semi-finals of the Four Nations tournament.

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Engin Firat's charges then thrashed Zimbabwe 3-1 to lift the title, the first one since the 2017 CECAFA Senior Challenge.

"Statistics show that we have been doing well when playing away in recent times. The team returns to Malawi, a destination they know very well.

The team will not be under much pressure as compared to when playing at home," opined the former defender who captained Stars in regional tournaments during his active years.

Just like Wanga, Situma is convinced that Stars will shine in Malawi and return home with points in their basket.

The league-winning captain with Tusker and Sofapaka is confident that Kenya stands a chance to qualify for first-ever World Cup.

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"You can't write off a team before a game or a tournament. It is possible to win both matches and take control of the group. We also have a good chance to top the group," said the former Mathare United defender.

While the duo feels that staging the matches in Malawi will eliminate pressure from the team, they say the government could have done better in having at least a facility ready at this moment and time.

Situma urged the government to speed up the renovation works at Nyayo and Kasarani in readiness for the subsequent international assignments.

"We appreciate the efforts by the government to refurbish our facilities to meet the set requirements. However, we could have had at least one ready for these matches.

The fans deserve to see and support the team in action. I hope we will be infrastructure-ready in the next international break," urged the current KEFWA President.

For Wanga, he says, the government led by Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba, should double efforts on two facilities and have them ready.

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