Harambee Stars prey on lowly Mauritius in Port Louis
Moses Shumah (left) vies for the ball with Amos Nondi during Harambee Stars' training session at Safaricom Foundation in Thika on June 9, 2023 ahead of their upcoming four-nation tournament in Mauritius. Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group
What you need to know:
- Kenya's Turkish coach Engin Firat will be demanding more from his players in the game after decrying the display in their 1-0 win over Pakistan in their first match on Wednesday.
Harambee Stars will on Sunday face hosts Mauritius as the curtains fall on the Four Nations Tournament in Port Louis.
The game will be staged at Cote D’Or National Complex in Port Louis. The match will kick off at 2.30pm Kenyan time. Other teams participating in the tournament are Djibouti and Pakistan.
Kenya beat lowly ranked Pakistan 1-0 on Wednesday in its first match courtesy of an 18th minute strike from 19-year-old Kakamega Homeboyz striker Moses Shumah.
Stars missed their first match against Djibouti last Sunday after failing to travel on time.
Pakistan are ranked 195 according to the latest Fifa ranking while Mauritius sit at position 180.
This will be the third time Kenya will be facing Mauritius as the two teams met twice in 2015 in the qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup.
In the first leg, Kenya thrashed Mauritius 5-2 via Johanna Omollo's double and a goal apiece from Ayub Timbe, Haroun Shakava and Michael Olunga in Nairobi.
In the second leg, the two teams battled to a barren draw and Kenya qualified for the next round of the qualifiers on a 5-2 aggregate.
From the scorers in the 2015, only Olunga will be present.
Kenya's Turkish coach Engin Firat will be demanding more from his players in the game after decrying the display in their 1-0 win over Pakistan in their first match on Wednesday.
Against Pakistan, Firat, 53, handed KCB custodian Bryine Omondi and Shumah their debut. He is expected to give more players who didn’t play against Pakistan a chance against Mauritius.
Shumah is optimistic that Stars will carry the day against the hosts.
“They are our hosts and will be out to impress their fans against us. It will be a tough match but If the coach entrusts me with another chance, then I will give my best,” said the youngster.
Stars are using the friendly matches to prepare for the 2026 Fifa World Cup Qualifiers which are scheduled to kick off in November.
The draw for the qualification stage of the World Cup will be held on July 12 in Cotonou, Benin.
