Harambee Stars coach Sebastien Migne (left) with captain Victor Wanyama before

their Africa Cup of Nations Group F match against Ethiopia on October 14, 2018 at
Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani. PHOTO | CHRIS OMOLLO |NATION MEDIA GROUP
Upfront, Cisse will rely on the Ligue 1 trio of Ismaila Sarr, M�Baye Niang and
Moussa Konate for goals and as usual Inter Milan forward Keita Balde will carry his
bag of tricks and flair.

�Senegal are favourites to proceed as winners. They have an extraordinary group of

players with a lot of experience in Europe. Algeria could offer competition but I
see Senegal emerging first,� Diouf, a member of the 2002 dream team, offered when
asked to give his prediction of who would proceed from the group.

'UNDERDOGS TAG'

It is no doubt that Senegal will be the team to beat in Group C but the fact that
Kenya start as underdogs could work perfectly for Migne. During the qualification
phase, the French man used the same strategy to upset Ghana in Nairobi and rekindle
Kenya�s for qualifying for the Cup of Nations for the first time in 15 years.

This picture taken on April 12, 2019 shows the the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations
groups composition of with the Pyramid of Khafre (Chephren) and the Sphinx in the
background at the Giza Pyramids Necropolis on the western outskirts of the Egyptian
capital Cairo. PHOTO | KHALED DESOUKI |

This picture taken on April 12, 2019 shows the the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations
groups composition of with the Pyramid of Khafre (Chephren) and the Sphinx in the
background at the Giza Pyramids Necropolis on the western outskirts of the Egyptian
capital Cairo. PHOTO | KHALED DESOUKI |
In his brief stint at the national team, three things have stood out. He is a good
schemer, risk taker and he likes his game plan executed to the latter. Just like
Claude Le Roy, Migne has used big games to announce himself to African football as
head coach after spending close to seven years under the wings of his mentor.

Against the Black Stars in Kasarani, he produced a game-changer in Group F. The 1-0
win, courtesy of Nicholas Opoku�s own goal, changed the whole dynamics of the
qualifiers. He almost orchestrated another tactical master piece in the return leg
in Accra but he was undone by Caleb Ekuban�s goal with only seven minutes left.

The Ayew brothers, Newcastle�s Christian Atsu, John Boye of Metz, Alaves� Mubarak
Wakaso and Atletico Madrid�s Thomas Partey were all in that Black Stars squad that
laboured to edge Kenya at home. If Migne needs encouragement in the last Group C
match against a star-studded Senegal he needs to look no further than the 1-0 loss
to Ghana last month.

But it is the opener against Algeria that will shape Kenya�s fate. He will need his
charges to be as disciplined as they were in Bahir Dar (0-0) and ruthless as they
were at Kasarani (3-0) against the Walya Antelopes of Ethiopia. Both results, a
draw in Addis and a win in Nairobi, all but confirmed Kenya�s place in the Cup of
Nations.

Victory or even a draw against the Desert Foxes will be a good start for Kenya. In
the previous edition, Algeria bowed out at the group stage after finishing third in
Group B with only two points. A 2-2 draw against minnows Zimbabwe in the opener
meant they complicated their chances. Senegal went ahead to win the group with
Tunisia finishing second to proceed to the quarters.

The Desert Foxes are however not short of quality. Manchester City�s Riyad Mahrez
obviously comes to mind but it�s Al Sadd�s Baghdad Bounedjah who carries the
biggest attacking threat for the North Africans. The 27-year-old scored 58 goals
last year to become the highest scorer in all competitions ahead of Cristiano
Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

He scored thrice in the qualifiers making him a prime target for Brian Mandela and
Musa Mohammed to police mark. Turkey based Islam Slimani, Yassine Benzia
(Fenerbahce) and Sofiane Feghouli (Galatasaray) could be deployed as the supporting
cast in attack but it�s Porto�s Yacine Brahimi who makes the Algerians tick.