Harambee Stars captain Michael Olunga has promised that the team will bounce back stronger after a defeat to Mauritius on Sunday, June 18, 2023.

Kenya lost to Mauritius by a solitary goal in their second game of the just concluded Four-Nations tournament, and the Al Duhail SC striker has revealed his feelings.

“0-1 Lose. Gutted with the result last evening but will regroup and bounce back stronger. Thanks to everyone who supported us,” reads his statement.

Olunga did not score in the tournament despite a strong performance for the club. The forward had a fine run at the club level where he was able to defend the Golden Boot award after scoring 22 goals as Al Duhail emerged as the champions of the Qatar Stars League.

Blunt Stars

Harambee Stars scored just one goal in the Four Nations competition, which came in their 1-0 win over Pakistan in the opening match of the tournament, with Olunga silenced in both games.

The Stars’ goal was scored by Moses Shummah, who was making his debut for the national side. The Kakamega Homeboyz forward was dropped for the game against Mauritius but came on in the second half when he replaced Benson Omala.

With the rather unconvincing performance by the Harambee Stars, Olunga could find himself under heavy criticism, just like his predecessor, Victor Wanyama.

The former Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur midfielder was always criticized when Harambee Stars underperformed, and he later decided to hang his boots.

We'll be back home in a few 🙏#HarambeeStars pic.twitter.com/i01xld92rW

— Harambee Stars (@Harambee__Stars) June 19, 2023

Although there have been reports that Wanyama will reverse his retirement decision, the Montreal Impact midfielder is yet to send a clear signal that he is ready to be included in the national team.

In his absence, Teddy Akumu and Richard Odada have been partnered in most cases in the deep midfield, and the duo have shown some promising solidity.

Meanwhile, Kenya only played in two games, although they had been scheduled to face Djibouti as their opening opponents. Delayed travel to the tournament meant the match against Djibouti had to be called off.

Pressure

Head coach Engin Firat is set to find himself under immense pressure following his wanting display in the June tournament.

The Turkish coach adopted a more defensive approach even though Kenya were playing against lowly-ranked opponents. Mauritius are 180th, while Pakistan are 195th, according to FIFA’s recent rankings.

In both games, Firat played a number of players out of their natural positions. Amos Nondi and Eric ‘Marcelo’ Ouma, both natural fullbacks, were used as wingbacks against Pakistan.

Although Olunga was deployed in his usual position, the former Gor Mahia striker at times fell back deep into deep midfield, while Moses Shummah led the attacks.

When Shummah was withdrawn, and Kenya was still looking for more goals, Daniel Anyembe, a defender, was introduced. This denied Kenya a prolific attacking strategy and ended up giving them a slim win.

Against Mauritius, Aboud Omar, was benched as Clifton Miheso operated as a winger, and Benson Omala, who was handed his senior debut, was also introduced into the starting XI.

And although the strategy against Mauritius was more attacking than what was seen in the tournament’s opening game, Amos Nondi was still played out of his position.

Nondi was played as a right-back at the time, and Firat had Tusker’s natural right-back Daniel Sakari as an option for that position.

Whether it is a strategy he hopes to use going into the future, this will only be known when Kenya will be back in action during the next FIFA window in September, although there is no official itinerary for Harambee Stars now.

What is almost certain is the participation of the team in the Africa Cup of Nations and World Cup qualifiers. By then, key players like Brian Mandela, Joseph Okumu, and Masoud Juma, who missed the Mauritius tournament, are expected to be back.

That will be a huge boost for Firat.