Harambee Stars vs Mali: Kenya's World Cup Dream Ended After Defeat at Nyayo Stadium

• Kenya vs Mali Group E World Cup qualifier ended in a 1-0 defeat for Harambee Stars
• Ibrahima Kone scored the lone goal that separated the two teams at Nyayo Stadium
• The defeat leaves Kenya rocked in third in the pool with a paltry two points from four matches

Kenya's hopes of earning revenge over Mali were dented on Sunday, October 10, as the West African nation silenced Harambee Stars at Nyayo Stadium.

Stars were looking to make amends against Mali during the reverse tie having suffered a 5-0 humiliating midweek defeat against the side.

However, those hopes were crushed as Ibrahima Kone shone for Mali once again as he scored the solitary goal that separated the two sides.

Kone was the man of the moment in the first leg as he scored a stunning hattrick before setting up another in his side's 5-0 win over Engin Firat's men.

He continued his impressive form during Mali's trip to Nairobi, with his 55th goal of the encounter steering Les Aigles to a vital win.

The Sunday encounter saw Stars put a spirited performance in the first half but were unable to make their chances count.

Upon the resumption of the second half, Kone broke the deadlock with his side's opener, with Marcelo coming close to scoring an equaliser in the 71st minute.

However, his effort went wide as the visitors held firm to secure a comfortable victory away from home.

The defeat leaves Harambee Stars rocked in third in Group E with a paltry two points from four matches.

Mali top the charts with 10 points, with Uganda, placed second with eight.

As such, regardless of the outcome of the two remaining matches, Kenya does not stand a chance of going through to the next round of the qualifiers.

Kenya backed to beat Mali

Earlier, TUKO.co.ke reported that Francis Kahata had exuded confidence Harambee Stars can turn tables on Mali during their second leg meeting.

The Engin Firat-tutored side fell to Les Aigles in their third fixture of Group E to have their hopes of making it to Qatar dented.

While the midfielder admitted the midweek performance by Stars was poor, he was quick to back the team to make amends on Sunday.