- The Bright Stars arrive from Bamako, Mali, where they faced off with the hosts in the final 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier, losing 4-0.
- The last meeting between the two sides was a friendly match at Nyayo Stadium and Harambee Stars emerged victorious courtesy of an Elvis Rupia.
Image: FILE
Harambee Stars will for the first time since November 2021 play on home soil in a friendly match against South Sudan and hope to continue their imperious form against the Bright Stars.
The match set for Tuesday (today) at 4 pm will be played at the Moi Stadium Kasarani.
The last time Kenya played at home was when they beat Rwanda 2-1 at the Nyayo Stadium in a FIFA World Cup qualifier match.
South Sudan jetted into the country on Sunday evening to have a feel of the ground before the duel.
This will be the fifth encounter between the two sides with Kenya winning all matches.
The Bright Stars arrived from Bamako, Mali, where they faced the host in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier, losing 4-0.
The Bright Stars are winless in their last four outings and they have conceded 12 goals in five outings. Their last victory was against Congo away last March, winning 2-1.
Stars Head coach Engin Firat said that the game with Bright Stars was much different from the one they played with Qatar where they won 2-1.
“This is a new match, maybe we will play with other players or a different strategy. We will see since every match has its own story,” he said.
“The most important thing for me is how the team is developing and how the players are reacting and adapting in the training. The players are doing their best and we will see what the future brings.”
The tactician further gave out a report of absent players ahead of the clash. Ayub Timbe who picked up an ankle injury in their friendly against Qatar has flown back to his club Nanjing City in China.
Johnstone Omurwa flew back to his team Estrela da Amadora (Portugal) as they have a tough fixture coming up against Porto.
Austin Odhiambo will also not feature for the meet against Bright Stars as he is down with Malaria.
Bandari’s Abdalla Hassan and Kariobangi Shark’s young prodigy Stanley Wilson, who did not make the cut for the Doha trip, have been training with the team since Friday.
Kenya Police FC midfielder Tyson Otieno has been added to the squad for Tuesday's clash.
Tito Okello, who plays for FKF premier league side Kenya Police FC said the game against Stars will be a great opportunity for their team to gauge their quality thus far.
“This is like another exercise for us to make our team better. As always it is great when two East African neighbours meet and play against each other,” Okello said.
“We got some few lessons we picked from Mali’s game and we are now here to correct and do better. We are looking forward to a great game.”
The match tickets will sell at Sh500 for the VIP and Sh200 for the normal terraces at gates 12 and 2 and also at the Kenya Cinema in CBD.