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Aron Wright - June 7, 2018
Chinese Taipei vs Kenya
Intercontinental Cup 2018
Date: Friday, 8th June 2018
Kick-off at 15:30 UK/ 16:30 CET
Venue: Mumbai Football Arena (Mumbai).
Kenya must beat Chinese Taipei to qualify for the finals of 2018 Intercontinental Cup.
After beating New Zealand 2-1 in their first match of the competition, Sebastien Migne’s side were brought to ground as hosts India thrashed them 3-0.
The match was played under heavy rain for the first 45 minutes, the ground remained wet even though the rain stopped at the restart. It was difficult playing conditions to be honest and goal keepers were rarely called into the action.
The Blue Tigers were lucky to have given a penalty in the 68 minutes, which was converted by the man in form, Sunil Chetri, who will score a brace in the closing minutes. The Harambee Stars cannot complain against the full-time score line as they failed to create any meaningful goal scoring chance throughout the match.
Good thing for Kenya is that will know in advance what is required to qualify for the finals. If New Zealand beat India on Thursday, Kenya must beat Taipei by a bigger score-line that betters their current -2 goal difference.
Chinese Taipei came to this tournament on the back of some good results. However, they were chasing shadow in the first two games of the tournament. They were a tad better in the 1-0 loss to New Zealand, but a majority of their players simply do not have the physical fitness to cope with the humid conditions in the sub-continent. Moreover, this team rarely fare under foreign conditions. So, the Harambee Stars can be confident in getting the result they want on Friday.
The teams will be meeting for the first time in a competitive football match.
Kenya are without the majority of their key player, yet they are far better side than the full-strength Chinese Taipei. The heavy defeat against India on Tuesday will make them do better here as well and they must win this game fairly easy as their opponents looked out of ideas in the first two games.
