Firat defends Harambee Stars after Gabon loss, reveals target against Seychelles
By Joel Sang, November 18, 2023Harambee Stars head coach Engin Firat has explained why they lost to Gabon during a 2026 World Cup qualifier on Thursday, November 16, 2023, in Franceville.
Kenya scored the first goal through Masoud Juma, but the Central Africans mounted a comeback to score two goals that gave them a win in their first match of Group F.
Firat pointed out what he thinks worked against his boys, and among the issues highlighted by the tactician is the absence of key players. Daniel Anyembe, Joseph Okumu, and Brian Mandela, who have been somewhat regular starters for Firat, were not available.
Firat defends charges
“When you see how many players were missing, I cannot really say much to the boys. They fought well, but it was not really our day. Like this week, we have been unlucky, and it continued in this match, especially at 1-1, where there was a mistake.
“But if we had scored a second goal, the match would have been finished for us, but we lost energy and Gabon were getting stronger. They scored a good goal, but in the end, we had a chance to equalise but in the whole process, we were very unlucky and it continued,” Firat said ahead of Harambee Stars’ next game.
Seychelles’ date
Kenya will face Seychelles on Monday, November 20, and Firat says they have no option but to win the game that will be played in Ivory Coast.
“To concede a goal in the last minutes hurts a lot, but it does not change our minds for our future. We have to win the next match, and next time we will have our full squad to show how good we are,” said Firat.
“We will go there to win; there is no other point because we need these points. In this group, all teams are very close to each other, so every point you get in every match is very important,” he added.
The match against Gabon was Kenya’s first competitive game since 2021, before they were suspended by FIFA. The last competitive match for Harambee Stars was, coincidentally, a World Cup qualifier against Rwanda, which they won by a 2-1 margin.