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Mbungo ‘not surprised’ by Abdalla’s form


Bandari coach Cassa Mbungo says he is not ‘surprised’ by Abdalla Hassan’s recent successes with the Kenya national team.

The youthful Abdalla has been among the players to watch within Harambee Stars set-up in recent times.

He scored twice, at home to Egypt and away to Togo, as Kenya picked up four points out of a possible six in the ultimate matches of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches.

The Bandari forward was also on target when Kenya beat Tanzania 2-1 in an international friendly in Nairobi earlier this month.

“He is a young and talented player who works very hard,” explained Rwandan Mbungo.

“In the last three months since I started working with him, he has improved in his decision making and has grown in confidence. He still has some parts of his game to improve, he should have scored more against Egypt. His impressive form highlights the work we are trying to do at Bandari.”

Besides Mbungo, Abdalla’s form has also attracted the praise of former Arsenal and Real Madrid forward Emmanuel Adebayor.

Adebayor watched Kenya beat Togo 2-1 from the stadium in Lome and visited the away team in the dressing room where he singled out Abdalla, among others, for praise.

“Remember one thing guys, we started from somewhere and found a way to get to the top,” said Adebayor

“I just want to tell you guys to believe in your dreams no matter what, give it 100 percent since you don’t know what tomorrow is made of. You can become a hero and you can also become a villain but you should put all the chances on your side to be a hero.”

Adebayor is one of the most experienced strikers in African football.

He spent his early days in the French league playing for Metz and Monaco before making the mega move to Arsenal in2006. His impressive performances at the London club helped him win both the BBC African footballer of the year in 2007 and the African player of the year award in 2008.

He moved to Manchester City before loan spells at Real Madrid and Tottenham followed.