With no chance of advancing to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), Kenya and Namibia will wrap up their qualifying campaigns with a face-off at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Tuesday. Both teams occupy the third and fourth spots in Group J and are out of contention for the upcoming continental event as they enter this last round of qualifiers.
Kenya's campaign began with promise but faltered as the competition progressed. Under coach Engin Firat, Kenya collected four points from their opening two fixtures against Zimbabwe and Namibia, setting them on track for a potential AFCON group stage berth. This would have been their first since 2019, following their failure to qualify in 2021 and ineligibility to participate in 2023.
However, Kenya's hopes were dashed in October when they faced back-to-back defeats against Cameroon within three days. These losses left the Harambee Stars with a steep uphill climb, needing an extraordinary turnaround in their final two matches to keep their qualification hopes alive.
Kenya faced Zimbabwe at the Orlando Stadium in their penultimate qualifier, knowing a victory was essential. Despite falling behind to Tawanda Maswanhise’s first-half goal, Jonah Ayunga’s equalizer offered some hope. The draw, however, was enough for Zimbabwe to secure their place in AFCON, eliminating Kenya from contention. As a result, Kenya will miss out on the prestigious tournament for the third consecutive edition.
While the Harambee Stars will not feature in the 2025 event, they have their eyes set on a return in 2027, when they will co-host the tournament alongside Tanzania and Uganda. For now, they aim to end their current campaign on a high note, seeking their first victory in six matches with this encounter against Namibia.
Namibia, on the other hand, started their AFCON qualification journey with high hopes, especially after an impressive showing at the tournament in Ivory Coast earlier in the year. They were striving to achieve back-to-back AFCON qualifications for the first time in their history. Drawn into Group J, the Warriors began their campaign with a narrow 1-0 loss to Cameroon, which set the stage for a challenging path ahead.
Collin Benjamin’s side suffered three consecutive defeats—one against Kenya and two against Zimbabwe—before finally earning their first point with a goalless draw against Cameroon in their most recent match. Despite holding just 36% possession, Namibia created more scoring opportunities than their opponents and came close to clinching a victory.
The draw spared Namibia the ignominy of being the only team in the group to finish without points, bringing their tally level with teams like Malawi and Ethiopia, who also collected minimal points during their respective campaigns.
Although Namibia’s AFCON journey has been underwhelming, their focus now shifts to the World Cup qualifiers, where they remain competitive. This final AFCON qualifier offers them a chance to restore pride and build momentum ahead of their upcoming World Cup fixtures in March.
Both Kenya and Namibia have endured challenging campaigns but will look to use this fixture as an opportunity to end their AFCON qualifiers on a positive note. With no tangible stakes in the game, Tuesday’s encounter is less about qualification and more about restoring morale and preparing for future challenges.
Kenya, as future co-hosts of AFCON 2027, will aim to rebuild their squad and regain confidence after a series of disappointing results. Namibia, still in contention for a World Cup berth, will seek to sharpen their game as they gear up for crucial matches in the near future.