Harambee

Harambee Stars first assistant coach Ken Odhiambo has revealed the reasons behind the team’s embarrassing elimination from the 2025 CHAN qualifiers by South Sudan.

Stars were kicked out of the qualifiers after losing 3-1 on aggregate to the youngest football team on the continent in the first round. The Bright Stars won the first leg 2-0 in Juba before frustrating Kenya to a one-all draw in the return leg hosted at the Mandela Stadium in Namboole, Uganda.

The unwanted results against South Sudan saw a section of legends call for the immediate sacking of coach Engin Firat given that Kenya was expected to use the qualifiers and build a strong team for the competition.

Kenya was also expected to revenge last year’s 1-0 loss suffered at the hands of South Sudan in an international friendly match staged at Kasarani Stadium. Odhiambo, in an exclusive interview with SportsBoom.com, opened up on why the team lost to South Sudan again and whether the team might have had a casual approach to the qualifiers considering that the ticket was in their hands.

WE FACED AN EXPERIENCED SOUTH SUDAN
Odhiambo, who doubles up as Bandari head coach, attributed the shocking defeat to the experience the South Sudanese team had over Stars.

The tactician observed that the majority of players in the South Sudanese team had gathered experience thanks to their regular participation in the World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

Odhiambo, noted that Kenya rarely used domestic players in serious players in similar matches, unlike the Bright Stars.

He said the results, the South Sudanese team had, registered in the World Cup and Afcon qualifiers, against top opponents in the continent while relying on local-based players, were a testament to the ground they had covered and their experience.

“We lost to a team that is used to playing together in big matches. Their team is largely made up of local-based players, who have played together for years. Looking at the results they have been registering in World Cup and AFCON qualifiers against top teams, it shows that is a team that has gelled well. This was the first time we were assembling a squad purely constituted by local players, after a long time,” explained Odhiambo.

SOUTH SUDAN ENJOYED HOME ADVANTAGE
The CAF A license holder conceded that their fate was sealed in the first leg in Juba, where the hosts took maximum advantage of home comfort to beat Kenya.

He regretted that Stars were growing weary of covering long distances so as to play home matches in a dull atmosphere as fans rarely travel to Uganda.

Odhiambo, was at pain to express the team’s desire to play home matches in Nairobi and reconnect with the fans whom they last played in front of in September 2023. Kenya has been hosting home matches in Uganda and Malawi due to lack of a CAF-approved stadium.

“We didn’t lose to a team that is stronger than us. However, some factors that are beyond our control contributed to it. South Sudan had home advantage when it mattered most, and they used it. Unfortunately, we did enjoy the same privilege in the return match and thus the result. The team misses playing home matches in Kenya,” added Odhiambo.

DID KENYA TAKE QUALIFIERS SERIOUSLY?
When the draw for the CHAN qualifiers was conducted, coach Firat told SportsBoom.com that, host teams featuring in the pre-tournament matches did not make sense to him.

The Turkish was, however, not available to comment on whether the team might have had a casual approach to the qualifiers after the elimination. Odhiambo, on his part, opted to steer clear on whether the team attached little or no importance to the qualifiers.

Instead, the former Kenyan international, gave more reasons for the defeat. “I prefer not to comment on that. We played well, especially in the return leg but luck was not on our side. We created clear-cut chances but we were unsuccessful in taking them,” he said.

ODHIAMBO’S PROMISE FOR CHAN
Despite the heartbreak in the qualifiers, the former Sofapaka coach is confident that Stars will put up a decent show in the tournament set to run from February 1-28.

Kenya will jointly host the showpiece alongside;Tanzania and Uganda, before staging the 2027 AFCON finals. Odhiambo believes that there is sufficient time to prepare the team well for the tournament and ultimately, give Kenyans something to celebrate about.

“Our leagues will not be interrupted after the November international break which will allow our players to be in rhythm and with the right momentum. There is time to work on the mistakes we noticed in the qualifiers,” he added.