Team Kenya has secured a spot in the ongoing Coca Cola Copa
Africa 2019 under-16 championships at the Mpesa Foundation Academy in Thika.
This is after midfielder Mohammed Mbaruk netted a lone goal
for the team, which is drawn from Serani High School, in an awarded penalty at
the 66 minute, during their quarter final match played this afternoon..
Kenya will battle it out with Tanzania in the semifinals on
Wednesday, following the Taifa stars junior 6-2 victory against Uganda in the quarterfinal
match.
Tanzania’s striker Paul Nyerere scored a hat-trick in the
12, 36 and 60 minutes respectively.
Zambia and Zimbabwe will play against each other in the
semis on Wednesday after outclassing both Namibia 4-1 and Angola 8-1
respectively in other quarterfinal matches played on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Uganda, Botswana, Namibia and Angola have been bundled
out of the 10-team tournament, joining South Africa and Mozambique, who were
knocked out in the preliminary stage.
Team Kenya Coach Daniel Lenjo commended the boys for the
struggle despite injuries drawn from the state of the pitch in their Monday
opening matches.
“We took too long to get our rhythm on the field since
most of my players were nursing injuries. However, every match is tough since
we are playing these other teams for the first time, and Botswana had a strong
defence. But we are taking each match at a time with no pressure,” said
Lenjo.
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