With just three months to the vital 2026 World Cup Qualifiers Harambee Stars skipper Michael Olunga has conveyed the need for better preparations that he notes will reduces excuses for failure.

The Al Duhail hitman says good conducive environment will give the players time to focus on delivery on the pitch and thanks the Football Kenya Federation for trying to give what is necessary for them to compete.

“There is always a room for improvement. You can never say that everything will be perfect all the time but at the end of the day with good preparations will limit excuses. The most important thing is going to play when you have concentrated and everything is sorted out with all preparations done well. FKF is trying really to give us an ample and conducive environment for us to try and complete, getting quality friendlies for us to sharpen our skills as well”, Olunga said.

Olunga,29, is poised for a milestone 50th cap for Kenya against Qatar tomorrow and says he is aware of fans desire for better fortunes from the national team in their forthcoming engagements.

“It is a team building process, a team building process but at the end the day in football it is the results that matter. We want to build a team that will bring success. I am sure Kenyans are yearning to be back there at the top and it is always a good feeling whenever you are going compete at an international level.

The last time we were at the AFCON in 2019 it was a really good opportunity and a lot of players were scouted from there, so we want to be there come the next championship that is going to be held and we will do everything so that it can be a good platform not only for us but also the coming generation”.

Kenya is setting its sights on the tricky 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign with a goal of giving an amelioration compared to the previous outings.

They will face former African champions Ivory Coasts, Gabon, Gambia, Burundi and Seychelles in Group F.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s head coach Carlos Queiroz named a strong squad for the Harambee Stars assignment tomorrow evening and Russia next Tuesday.

Part of that Qatar team is goalkeeper Salah Zakaria, defender Youssef Ayman and midfield Karim Boudiaf who are Olunga’s team mates at Al Duhail.

Queiroz, a renowned football coach guided Iran in the last year’s world Cup in Qatar, securing a famous 2-0 victory against Wales in Group B.