Of all the goals scored in the September FIFA World Cup 26™ qualifying window, arguably the greatest — and most audacious of them all — was scored by 41-year-old Sierra Leone striker Kei Kamara.
On the stroke of half-time during the 4 September clash with Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone defender Sallieu Tarawallie sent a hopeful free-kick from deep inside his own half towards the opposition area. As the ball came down towards the penalty arc, it was hard to see where a goal was going to come from.
But Kamara defied his age — as well as belief — as he sprung into the air and guided the ball from a full 25 yards out with a looping header over the sprawling goalkeeper Manuel Balde and into the net. Little wonder the FC Cincinnati forward is known as the “Headmaster” in Major League Soccer (MLS).
The veteran striker was all smiles as he not only became Sierra Leone’s oldest-ever scorer but also helped secure a valuable point in the Leone Stars’ quest to book an inaugural World Cup appearance. Kamara and Co. sit third in Group A with 12 points, three behind Burkina Faso, whom they face in a crunch clash next month with two games remaining.
Having retired from international football three times, Kamara is now aiming to follow in the footsteps of Cameroon icon Roger Milla, who took part in the FIFA World Cup™ aged 42 at USA 1994. The veteran forward will still be 41 — just — should he take part at next year’s global showpiece, with his birthday falling on 1 September.
Following his heroics against Guinea-Bissau, Kamara spoke to FIFA about the technique of scoring a header from outside the box, the impact that reaching the World Cup would have on Sierra Leone and his hopes for next year’s global showpiece.
Kei Kamara: It’s my trademark to score headers. There is so much planning that goes into the header – the temperature, the team was not playing well in that moment, and it was just at the end of the half and I was telling myself, ‘It would be really good for us to get a goal right here before the half is done.’ I have this connection with the left-back, I knew he was going to kick the ball high to me and maybe I can flick it on to the (other forward). But the flight of the ball did not come directly to me, it went to the Guinea-Bissau centre-back who is maybe 6ft 4in.
The way I saw the ball going to him, my ability or my strength is headers – they call me the “Headmaster” in MLS – I felt that this was the moment and that I could score as I scored an outside-of-the-box header against the Portland Timbers when I played for Vancouver (Whitecaps). With the way I was feeling, I had a flashback in my head and I was thinking, ‘Just snap this thing as hard as you can.’ So when I saw the way the ball was floating towards the goal, I knew there was no way that the goalkeeper could touch it as it was right over him.
The goal I scored against Portland Timbers, I ended up showing my team-mates at Sierra Leone… for me I wasn’t really looking to see where the goalkeeper was but when the ball floated, it gave myself the hope that, ‘Hey, you’ve done this before.’ As a goalscorer, every time you are in a goalscoring position some flashbacks hit you. I could compare it to one of the best goals in my career because this is a FIFA World Cup qualification match and scoring a goal at 41 years old for my national team… all that becomes Roger Milla-type stuff.
As a dreamer that I am and being at the end of that run in my profession, I have this wild dream in my head that Sierra Leone can be that underdog that sneaks in there and I get to cap off my career with a World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the USA.
It’s the biggest game, with Burkina Faso a couple of points ahead of us. For us, it’s just about putting ourselves second in our group. We know there are other teams in second place in their groups and are many points ahead, but if we can get in that second place, even if we don’t end up making the play-offs, we can say we finished higher than Burkina Faso. We get to host that game on the 6th and it will be a very big game for both of us.
I don’t even know! When we made the Africa Cup of Nations (for the first time), it didn’t matter about tribes or political parties, we saw everybody in the streets celebrating us. So imagine being at the biggest stage at the World Cup, I think it might be a whole month holiday really.
I love the country so much that when I hear cries from my team-mates, ‘You are doing well in your club career, please come back,’ so I always go back. But yes, I get frustrated and walk away again but I keep going back. Now I am happy that the door was always open for me to return and continue to help.
It’s dreams. Some African players call me and say, ‘Do you think you are the next Roger Milla?’ Just to be in that conversation, I love that. I look a bit younger than 41 so when I tell people than I am 41 I don’t think they respect me as much around Africa (as they should)… they say, ‘No you are younger than that.’ But it is definitely a motivational factor to keep going and hopefully inspire the next generation to feel like you don’t just have to play in your thirties, you can push it well beyond that.
A love of the game is one. My story is wild but to be a war child and to move to America and then have the blessing of opportunities to have football as my peace. I cannot cheat the game. I want to give myself, my body to the game to push it as far as it can go. I was never about the trophies and accolades, it was about finding something that keeps me happy and kept me away from the trauma of the war that I grew up in. Then the longer I kept going, I admired good players who were playing longer in their careers and I wanted to compare myself to them. Cristiano Ronaldo is the biggest name I could compare to, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic as well.
It’s great to bring the world together in North America. The USA is the land of opportunity, I am a citizen here and I could have represented the US and I chose to represent Sierra Leone. The World Cup speaks unity and brings everything together. It’s been a long time since the World Cup was in the US and I hope that it goes as planned. For soccer in America, this is a pivotal point going forward to see if we can be a top-five soccer nation in the world. I think it will change the perspective of soccer in America going forward.
