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Harambee Stars adopted a positive approach in their win over Qatar at the Al Janoub Stadium on Thursday, which excited plenty of fans.
Kenya head coach Engin Firat has revealed the tactical tweak that enabled them to pull an upset over Qatar during the side’s historic 2-1 win over the reigning Asian champions at the Al Janoub stadium on Thursday.
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08:29 - 09.09.2023
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Goals by Joseph Okumu and Amos Nondi were enough to give the Kenyans who turned up in large numbers for the game on Thursday something to smile about.
Stars were able to fly back into the county on Friday, before Firat was quizzed about his takes from the game that saw the Harambee Stars’ mood rise dramatically ahead of their friendly match against South Sudan on Tuesday.
“Happy for the Kenyans in Qatar because it gives them confidence,” Firat said “I know how it feels to live in a foreign country, now they have something when they go out they walk with pride,” he added.
Firat’s teams since he took over have been known to place an emphasis on being compact without the ball and hitting on the break, but against Qatar, the team played with an exuberant swagger.
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07:55 - 09.09.2023
FOOTBALL Harambee Stars: Why Firat must stick with Omurwa-Okumu partnership in central defence
The centre-back pairing of Joseph Okumu and Johnstone Omurwa produced many positives in Thursday's win against Qatar and the Stars coach must avoid the temptation of tinkering with it
Quizzed about whether that approach was a big reason for their win over the 2022 World Cup hosts, Firat seemed to agree.
“We changed how play from behind, how we opened the game, how we changed the sides so Qatar had no chance to press against us. We break all their press.”
The Turkish head coach insists that South Sudan will pose a different challenge, but stressed that the most important thing is to see the team develop moving forward.
“We will see, every match has its own story, the important thing is how the team develops, how the players react to what we are doing in training, how they adapt. We will see what the future will bring.”
Stars will play South Sudan at the Kasarani Stadium from 4PM on Tuesday.
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11:35 - 09.09.2023
FOOTBALL Olunga explains what Harambee Stars need to be ready for 2026 World Cup qualifiers
The Harambee Stars captain was encouraged by Kenya’s impressive display in Qatar and feels a lot more needs to be done to be ready for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers
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