Kenya Stun Ivory Coast At Nyayo To Take Control Of U-23 AFCON Qualifier Tie

Odhiambo strikes late as Kenya beat Ivory Coast 2

Henry Omollo and Andreas Odhiambo scored as Kenya edged Ivory Coast 2-1 in the U-23 AFCON qualifier first leg. Kenya now head to Abidjan with a slim lead.

Kenya's Emerging Stars beat Ivory Coast in the first leg of the 2027 U-23 AFCON qualifiers at Nyayo Stadium...

Kenya's Emerging Stars came from a frustrating first half to secure a precious 2-1 first-leg win over Ivory Coast in the second round of the 2027 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers at Nyayo National Stadium on Wednesday.

The hosts had booked their place in this round after surviving a tense 5-4 aggregate battle with Tanzania. Despite dominating the early exchanges and squandering several clear chances, Kenya were made to wait until the 54th minute before finally finding the breakthrough.

Henry Omollo broke the deadlock with a moment of pure quality, meeting a superb cross from the right, spinning away from his marker and rifling the ball into the top-right corner.

Kenya's joy was short-lived, however. A costly mistake at the back gifted Ivory Coast a route back into the game in the 74th minute, with Oumar Konate capitalising on a loose ball to weave past two defenders and fire home the equaliser.

Desperate for a winner, head coach Anthony Kimani turned to his bench for fresh impetus. His gamble paid off instantly as substitute Andreas Odhiambo emerged as the hero of the night.

Odhiambo lit up Nyayo with a stunning solo effort, dancing past a cluster of defenders before burying his shot in the 89th minute to send the home crowd into delirium.

Ivory Coast's misery was compounded a minute later when Christ Tape was sent off, leaving the Young Elephants to finish the game with 10 men.

Bannier Backs Ivory Coast To Overturn Deficit

Ivory Coast head coach Sebastien Bannier admitted Kenya's late second goal had complicated matters for his side ahead of the return leg in a fortnight.

“We cannot afford to switch off against a team with Kenya's attacking ability. The second goal hurt us because we had worked hard to recover after conceding first,” Bannier told the media.

He, however, remained optimistic about overturning the result on home soil.

“We still have another 90 minutes in Abidjan. We have the quality to turn this around, but we must be more clinical and more careful defensively,” he said.

Bannier concluded: “We have 90 minutes to put things right. We must learn from the mistakes we made here and approach the return match with greater concentration.”

Kenyan coach Kimani said: “We have won the first battle, not the war. Cote d'Ivoire will come at us strongly on their own turf, but we must carry this confidence into the return leg.”

“We want to go there and play football. We respect Cote d'Ivoire, but we also believe in our ability. If we remain brave and take our chances, we can finish this job,” he added.

 

FT #EmergingStars https://t.co/n0XGR7pSMM

— Harambee Stars (@Harambee__Stars) November 11, 2026

Kenya will now travel to Abidjan for the return leg on Tuesday, November 17th, at the Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny.

The winner of the tie will advance to the third and final qualifying round, with a place at the 2027 U-23 AFCON on the line. The tournament will also serve as the qualifying competition for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.