NAIROBI, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Kenya has the odds against it as it faces giants Equatorial Guinea in the final hurdle to qualify for the Africa Women's Cup of Nations in Machakos on Wednesday.
Harambee Starlets captain Wendy Achieng believes they have what it takes to slay the Guinean dragon at home and hold out for a draw away in Malabo on Saturday. Equatorial Guinea arrived in the country on Sunday.
"We are keen to start double match campaign with a home win as that will ease our chances away. It will take the pressure off us when we travel to Malabo. I want to urge our fans to come out in large numbers and support us," Achieng told Xinhua in Machakos on Monday.
The team beat local women's league leaders Thika Queens 5-1 over the weekend, and coach David Ouma is upbeat they will weather the storm.
"We have the odds against us. This is the second time we are making an attempt to qualify for the Africa debacle. However, Equatorial Guinea have the experience and history to their side. They have been to the competition finals on more than one occasion and have represented Africa at the World Cup," said Ouma.
The Harambee Starlets must overcome the West African side in both home and away ties to progress. Coach Ouma is confident the team will sail through.
"I am happy with the team's preparations. The players are also upbeat, and I believe we can get a positive result at home. We will change the playing tactics to be able to arrest the Guinean players on their run. We must ensure the midfielders are able to cover wide areas but all in all we are looking forward to a good match and better result," added Ouma.
Kenya progressed from the initial stage after downing neighbors Uganda 1-0 on aggregate. Kenya debuted in the tournament in 2016 in Cameroon, losing all their matches.
The biannual tournament will be held in Ghana from Nov. 17 to Dec. 1 and giants Nigeria are the defending champions.
The tournament also doubles as the African qualifiers to the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup. The top three teams will qualify for the World Cup in France.
Only the seven teams will join hosts Ghana in the finals. Equatorial Guinea were initially banned from qualification campaign but were reinstated after the sanctions were lifted in July 2017 at an emergency CAF committee meeting, and were included in the qualifying draw.
However, FIFA have banned them from qualifying for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, meaning they could not qualify for the World Cup regardless of their performance in the Africa Women's Cup of Nations.
