Gambia vs Harambee Starlets: Key Advantage Kenya Must Utilise to Kill Off Queen Scorpions

Harambee Starlets are just 90 minutes away from returning to the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and can complete the job on Tuesday.

Kenya took a giant step towards qualification for WAFCON 2026 when they beat The Gambia 3-1 in Nairobi last Friday and now need to avoid defeat to seal their place.

Starlets have been to WAFCON just once, in 2016, and could make a return after 10 years with a draw of any kind in the second leg for next year’s tournament in Morocco.

PAY ATTENTION: Stay updated with the Latest Sports News in Kenya from Pulse Sports

What should give Beldine Odemba’s team much hope is that Gambia are hosting the game away from home.

The match will be played at Stade Lat Dior in Thies, Senegal which is a neutral ground, denying the Queen Scorpions home advantage, as there will be no partisan crowd to intimidate Kenya, who enjoyed a great push from supporters at Nyayo Stadium last week.

That is perhaps just what Starlets need as they can focus on the job at hand against a Gambia team that will be under pressure to win.

Kenya have enough quality to see off the game going by what was witnessed in the first leg, when they missed a host of chances that would have seen them win by a bigger margin, and will want to take advantage of the space left behind by their opponents when they go on the offensive.

The Gambia still do not have an approved stadium back home, which has forced all their national teams to play their international matches away, and their men’s senior team also hosted their last two World Cup qualifiers against Burundi and Gabon in Nairobi.

The country’s football association is also struggling financially, something that saw a number of foreign-based players fail to make it for the two-legged tie against Starlets.