Manzur Okwaro Shares Secret to Harambee Stars Securing Victory In Front of Hostile Guinea Fans

Harambee Stars utility man Manzur Okwaro believes his inside information about the Guinea players can prove vital in securing a win against the Syli National.

Kenya and Guinea face off in a 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Conakry on Thursday evening and history suggests the home side have the edge.

Okwaro, however, feels having played with one of the Guinea players as well as following and watching some of them gives him inside knowledge somewhat of the dangers they possess and how to nullify them.

“I know most of the players of the Guinea national team,” Okwaro said during a pre-match press briefing on Thursday. “I played with the goalkeeper in the same team but he went on loan to another team.”

The Stade de Reims midfielder is cognizant of the fact that the quality of Guinea outweighs what Kenya possesses but has faith in Benni McCarthy’s tactical plans.

“We have a player like Serhou Guirassy, a big player, [Ilaix] Moriba, all kinds of players that I can name, but us as a team, is to stick to the plan,” he added. “Whatever the coaches will tell us to do we will do that and we will try as hard as we can not to concede and make any mistakes.”

Okwaro is seeking redemption against Guinea after his mistake led to Eritrea’s goal when Kenya drew their first 2027 AFCON qualifier 1-1 in Nairobi on Saturday.

His coach Benni McCarthy has backed him to rise from that disappointment and he is in line to make the starting XI at the heart of Kenya’s midfield.