Kenya started off on a wrong footing going down 3-0 to Japan in their opening Group B Eight nation international match played at the Cape Town Stadium Saturday.
Kenya were out played by the Japanese who displayed superior ball control and tactical ability, and were duly rewarded with their first goal after just 10 minutes through Ryota Tanabe who sent a low shot past keeper Joel Bataro.
Kenya twice lost a chance to equalise first in the 15minute when Meshack Karani’s shot went wide. Karani again wasted another opportunity just before the break when he missed Danson Kago’s superb pass.
The Kenyans rued their wasted chances as the nippy Japanese extended their lead in the 57th minute with Tanabe scoring his brace before Ryuji Hirota completed the rout in the 77th minute. Kenya next plays Brazil Sunday in their group B match that also includes Cameroon in the competition whose finals will be played on June 3.
A five-goal thriller saw the Black Satellites of Ghana edge Nigeria 3-2 while hosts South Africa fell 3-1 to Argentina. This is the second edition of the bi-annual tournament is after the first event prior to the 2010 Fifa world Cup.
Fixtures:
25 May Athlone Stadium
18:00 South Africa vs Argentina
20:30 Ghana vs Nigeria
26 May, Cape Town Stadium
14:00 Kenya vs Japan
16:30 Brazil vs Cameroon
27 May
14:00 South Africa vs Ghana
16:30 Argentina vs Nigeria
28 May, Athlone Stadium
18:00 Brazil vs Kenya
20:30 Cameroon vs Japan
29 May
18:00 SA vs Nigeria
20:30 Argentina vs Ghana
30 May, Athlone Stadium
18:00 Brazil vs Japan
20:30 Cameroon vs Kenya
1 June, Athlone Stadium:Semi-finals
18:00 Winner A vs Runner up B
20:30 Winner B vs Runner up A
3 June, Cape Town Stadium
3rd Place Play-off
14:00 Loser 1st Semi-final vs Loser 2nd Semi-final
Final
17:00 Winner 1st Semi-final vs Winner 2nd Semi-final
Sportsnewsarena Correspondent
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