Olunga asks for 'more top quality' friendlies as Harambee Stars jet back in readiness for South Sudan clash

Kenya men’s national football side - Harambee Stars - jetted back to the country on Friday night following their impressive 2-1 victory over Qatar on Thursday 7 September at the Al-Janoub Stadium in Doha.

The squad of 23 players and technical members, who were pictured checking in at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, arrived back in time for their second and final international friendly fixture this window, where they are expected to line up against South Sudan on Tuesday 12 September.

The match, which will also provide Kenya a chance to host an international fixture for the first time since November 2021, has been confirmed to take place at the Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani and will kick off from 1600 EAT.

Additional information in regards to game tickets was released on Friday, with regular and VIP tickets reported to retail at Ksh. 200 and Ksh. 500 respectively.

A fixture against South Sudan will provide Kenya a chance to extend their unbeaten record over the country ranked 167th in the world, with the last matchup in March 2021 ending in a 1-0 advantage for the hosts courtesy of an Elvis Rupia strike.

Tactical analysis of Harambee Stars' effective structure in win against Qatar

On Friday night however, team skipper Michael Olunga was ecstatic of the win Kenya registered on the road against Qatar saying; “Feels great, was a nice win and we played well given it was a tough game on foreign soil.

"I think we played well, credit to the technical team for their outstanding job and advice, and also to the Kenyan fans in Doha, they did us well with their support.”

Asked what it meant to win then, Olunga stated that the team was on the right trajectory thanks to the new young faces who had shown overtime their zeal to be involved and win.

“Special thanks to the Qatari Football Association for granting us that opportunity to test ourselves out with the Asian champions, gained access to world class facilities and even a World Cup stadium,” Olunga added, referring to the win as ‘a moment of pride’ that he hoped would open more doors for such high-quality friendlies in the future.

Those games will be very important as we prepare for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers,” he added.

Kenya was in July drawn in Group F of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers against Seychelles, Burundi, Gambia, Gabon, and Côte d’Ivoire, and the first first-leg games are scheduled for 13th November and 21st November 2023.