Wanyama weighed down by Kenya’s World Cup qualification failures
Harambee Stars captain Victor Wanyama has shared his “pain” following Kenya’s early elimination from the 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifiers, while also revealing his ultimate dream of one day playing at the world’s biggest football showpiece.
Kenya was eliminated from the 2018 World Cup qualifiers after an aggregate 2-1 defeat to Cape Verde in the opening stages back in 2015.
As a result, the Kenyan national team has been reduced to mere spectators as the likes of Egypt, Uganda, Zambia, Nigeria and Cameroon contest the final round of the qualifiers for the final of the global football showpiece that will be held in Russia.
Wanyama, who features for top English side Tottenham Hotspur, also attributed the national team’s recent struggle for results to inexperience within its ranks.
PAINFUL
Kenya has never qualified for the Fifa World Cup and last made an appearance at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2004.
“It hasn’t been easy. It’s really painful because it’s my dream to one day feature in the World Cup. We don’t have a lot of professional players,” Wanyama told Kwese ESPN.
“Still you need to try and motivate (the players) to come and show up on the pitch, because we have a young team. Alot of players play in the local league so they’ve never been tested before in big international games. It is important to motivate them to make them ready,” he added.
Meanwhile, Wanyama is one of five senior players who opted out of the international friendly involving Kenya and Mozambque in Maputo on Saturday.
Others are Ayub Timbe, Micheal Olunga, Johanna Omollo and Eric ‘Marcelo’ Ouma.
