Harambee Stars do not play until November and have lately come up against very lowly ranked opposition.
The subdued rankings of Harambee Stars opposition in the recent past have irked a former international who is now turning the heat on Football Kenya Federation to ditch the lowly ranked countries and get 'worthy opponents for the national team.
Former Harambee Stars striker Boniface Ambani wants FKF to arrange ‘tough’ friendly matches for Harambee Stars in order to make them competitive enough for the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers scheduled to kick off in November.
Ambani added that the friendlies against the ‘tougher’ footballing nations would help give the players much needed exposure which will help them deal with the pressures of facing such teams competitively, even if they suffer humiliating defeats.
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Kenya were placed in Pool B alongside Ivory Coast, Gabon and Gambia, three very tricky teams. With the side not set to play competitively until November, Ambani wants the federation to arrange for tough friendly matches against teams like Nigeria and South Africa.
“We should take part in friendly matches against competitive teams like Nigeria and South Africa. The teams we play should be strong. Even if we get trounced 6-0, we should not be afraid of defeats because they will make us learn from experience and gain confidence,” Ambani told NTV.
“By the time we are getting into the real competitions, everyone will be ready and the players will be able to compete at that stage.
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"These are small details that must be addressed going into the qualifiers otherwise Kenya are not favorites," Firat said.
“Players get affected by stage fright. They see players like Sadio Mane playing at the highest level, which affects them when they meet face to face in competitive games. If the players can be given such exposure earlier, it can help big time.
“The mistake we make is that we usually want to face these teams in real matches and qualifiers, but we have not been playing with them earlier.
Ambani also asked the government to support the side more, and challenged the federation to allow the coaching staff led by Engin Firat to pick the team on merit, not reputation.
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“The government does not support the national team at times and so does the federation,” Ambani told NTV, “ Most times, they interfere with the selection of the team,” he added.
“Some of the officials usually want their players included in the squad for personal gains so that they can gain more caps and improve their reputation. At times, a player who should be in the squad on merit does not get picked.
“I remember there was a time when the national team called up two goalkeepers from the same team (Kariobangi Sharks), the number one and the number two (Brian Bwire and John Oyemba), which left me wondering whether other teams had keepers that were good enough.
“These are some of the things we should weed out of the system. From there, look for money, hit camp early, take part in multiple friendly matches.”
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