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The Harambee Stars captain was encouraged by Kenya’s impressive display in Qatar and feels a lot more needs to be done to be ready for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers
Harambee Stars captain Michael Olunga has urged the Football Kenya Federation to ensure the national team continues playing high caliber friendly matches ahead of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
Olunga was among those who put in an impressive performance as Kenya downed Qatar 2-1 in Doha on Thursday, setting up Amos Nondi for the winning goal in injury time, after Joseph Okumu’s early opener had been cancelled out.
Having beaten the 2022 World Cup hosts at their own backyard, the Al Duhail striker feels these kinds of matches are what Kenya need to be ready for the 2026 tournament qualifying campaign where they have Ivory Coast, Gabon, the Gambia, Seychelles and Burundi in their group.
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08:00 - 08.09.2023
FOOTBALL: Harambee Stars attributes that satisfied Olunga most during win over Qatar
The Harambee Stars captain is wowed by the manner in which Kenya performed in Doha to secure a last-minute victory against Qatar
“The technical bench gave us good instructions and the many fans who turned up in Qatar to support us gave us a boost. It was one good match and we hope we can keep playing against such opposition so that we continue performing well,” said Olunga upon returning from Qatar.
“We have won against the Asian champions, it shows we have a good team and the boys keep pushing themselves.
“We have many new players in the team and young ones coming through so it is to continue playing many friendly matches so that when it comes to World Cup qualifiers in November, we are ready.”
It was a much-improved display from Kenya’s last match against Mauritius when they lost 1-0, having struggled to create chances, with their expansive style yielding a number of great opportunities.
Unlike before, there was also purpose to Kenya’s game with a better organised defence, a three-man midfield that made life difficult for Qatar, especially in the first half, and a front three of Olunga, Masoud Juma and Elvis Rupia.
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07:00 - 08.09.2023
FOOTBALL: Six lessons learned from Harambee Stars’ historic win over Qatar
There were plenty of positives to pick from the win over Qatar following a disappointing outing at the Four Nations Tournament.
The introduction of specialist wide men Ayub Timbe and Amos Nondi injected much pace and power into Kenya’s attack and should have given coach Engin Firat food for thought ahead of their next friendly match against South Sudan on Tuesday.
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