Today’s top-of-the-table clash in Group ‘A’ of the 2024 African Nations Championship (Chan) will see an interesting reunion between Harambee Stars’ South African coach Benni McCarthy, and his Moroccan counterpart Tarik Sektioui.

The two first crossed paths in 1997 during the final of that year’s African Youth Championship, won by hosts Morocco.

The competition is now known as Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations, and in 1997, Morocco won the competition for the first and only time in their history after defeating South Africa 1-0 in the final. While Sektioui was named the tournament’s best player, McCarthy could only follow the proceedings of the final match from the stands.

“We were the surprise package at the tournament. I was young and I had the world at my feet. I was suspended for that final after I collected two yellow cards for taking off my jersey after scoring two crucial last-minute goals that contributed to us reaching that final,” McCarthy said during the pre-match press conference at Kasarani yesterday.

In his senior career, McCarthy played against Morocco twice, with ‘Bafana Bafana’ defeating the Atlas Lions on both occasions – 2 -1 in the quarter-finals of 1998 Afcon, and 3-1 in the group stage of 2002 Afcon. McCarthy scored for South Africa during the 1998 encounter.

Sektioui was not part of Morocco’s squad at those two tournaments and never got to face South Africa when playing for the Atlas Lions. However, he did come on as a substitute for Morocco during their 5-1 home win over Harambee Stars in a 2006 Fifa World Cup qualifier match played in February 2005. He was also an unused substitute when Kenya and Morocco drew 0-0 at Nyayo National Stadium on June 18, 2005.

The two coaches renewed acquaintances again in July 2006 when Sektioui joined FC Porto from Dutch club AZ Alkmaar. Sektioui was the first African player that Porto was signing since McCarthy joined the club from Celta Vigo in 2003. The two were only teammates for two weeks as McCarthy moved to English Premier League club Blackburn Rovers.

“Sektioui joined Porto after his former coach at Willem II, Co Adriaanse, signed him. We were the only African players at Porto and we quickly became friends. Tomorrow we will reunite because of Chan and I do not think there will be a score to settle since we had a good relationship in the past. A draw would be a fair result but we will be going for a win,” McCarthy said.

Describing Sektioui as “a tactically astute coach” and Morocco as “an unpredictable team”, McCarthy said Harambee Stars will have to be disciplined and organised to stand a chance against the two-time Chan winners.

Harambee Stars overcame nervous starts against DR Congo and Angola to win and draw respectively.

McCarthy, who expects Atlas Lions to go for an early goal, then sit back and look for more opportunities to hit Kenya on the counter through their enterprising wing play, said Kenya cannot afford to lose concentration against the North Africans.

Kenya are without the suspended Marvin Nabwire, who was sent off in the 21st minute of their match against Angola on Thursday at Kasarani.

McCarthy said Nabwire’s absence leaves a huge gap in the Harambee Stars midfield but expressed confidence he has capable replacements within the squad.

Experienced Masoud Juma, who missed the match against Angola due to injury, hinted that the 29-year-old striker would be available for selection.

“We have a training session on Saturday evening and after that we will assess players who can start the match based on their fitness levels. For Masoud, we will also have to know from him how he feels before making a decision.”

Harambee Stars captain Abud Omar said: “We get an opportunity to play at a high level and the more we play, the better we become. Tomorrow we will aim to improve, play better, and qualify for the second round.”

Morocco coach Sektioui praised McCarthy’s playing career, describing him as an “exceptional player”.

“However, tomorrow we have to put friendship aside because I want my team to perform well,” he promptly added.

Kenya lead Group “A” with four points from two matches. Morocco are second with three points from one match. DR Congo are third with three points from two matches. Angola are fourth with a point from two matches. Zambia are bottom of the group with zero points.

This will be the sixth meeting between Kenya and Morocco. Despite being the underdogs, history backs Harambee Stars to get a result on Sunday against the North Africans. While Morocco have won three of their five previous meetings against Kenya, they have never beaten Harambee Stars in Nairobi, drawing 1-1 in June 2001 and 0-0 in June 2005.

A victory for homeboys Harambee Stars today will end Morocco’s 14-match unbeaten run at Chan, the longest in the history of the competition.

Morocco’s last defeat in the competition came at the Chan 2016 when they lost 1-0 to Cote d’Ivoire in the group stages. After that, they went on to win Chan 2018 on home soil and Chan 2022 in Cameroon with unbeaten records.