{Photo courtesy of Capital News}
By Dennis Mungai
Harambee Stars lost their international friendly match against South Sudan 1-0 at the Kasarani Stadium on Tuesday evening. The only goal of the game was scored by Tito Okello in the second minute of the match. Kenya’s coach Firat made only one change to the team that beat Qatar 2-1 a few days back. Brian Mandela started in defence as Stars looked to beat South Sudan for the fifth time in row in matches between the two teams.
That was not to happen however, as the home team fell behind after two minutes. South Sudan held on and defended their lead till the final whistle, with Stars missing out on chances through Michael Olunga. This was Harambee Stars’ first match at home in 2 years, mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic leading to stoppage of football across the country.
Coach Firat is hoping his boys can make amends and deliver better results ahead of their FIFA 2026 World Cup qualifiers later this month. Harambee Stars are in the same group with Burundi, Ivory Coast, Guinea and Seychelles.