Kenya’s ambitious Harambee Stars flew into Lagos on Wednesday afternoon hoping they would match African champions Nigeria in Saturday’s 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying match in Calabar.
A delegation of 20 players and 11 officials will sleep over in Lagos before flying into Calabar on Thursday, to be accommodated at Channel View Hotel.
Nigeria and Kenya have clashed at senior level 13 times previously, with Nigeria coming out tops in 11 of them, the remaining two drawn. Their first-ever meeting was on May 8, 1968 when the Nigerians, on the way from an Olympic Games qualifying match in Ethiopia, stopped by in Nairobi for a friendly and defeated their hosts 2-1.
Another friendly in Nairobi eight years later ended 1-1, but in August 1981, Nigeria won yet another friendly in Nairobi 3-1 with goals from Henry Nwosu, Ifeanyi Onyedika and Emmanuel Osigwe.
Fatai Amoo and late Rashidi Yekini scored in a 3-0 defeat of the Harambee Stars in a World Cup qualifier in Nairobi in April, 1985 with the Eagles completing the rout 3-1 in Lagos two weeks later.
The last two meetings between the teams came in 2010FIFA World Cup qualifying series in 2009, Nigeria winning 3-0 in Abuja – with goals by Ikechukwu Uche and Obinna Nsofor – and then nicking the return 3-2 in Nairobi on the last day of the series, to earn a ticket to South Africa.