INTERNATIONAL FREINDLY
Djibouti, Kenya register wins in 4-Nations Tournament
CECAFA representatives Djibouti and Kenya picked up wins at the on-going 4-Nations Tournament in Mauritius on Wednesday.
Harambee Stars stopped Pakistan 1-0, while Djibouti registered a 3-1 win against hosts Mauritius in matches played at the Cote D’Or National Sports Complex.
After missing their opening match against Djibouti because of late arrival, the Harambee Stars skippered by Qatar based Michael Olunga made sure they picked a win in the first match.
The 20-year old Kakamega Homeboyz FC striker Moses Shummah netted the lone goal after 17 minutes. Kenya continued to dominate play, but were not so sharp at goal.
Engin Firat, the Kenya head coach said although they got a win, he was not impressed with the general performance. “I am not impressed with how we played. It was very slow. 1-0 is not enough for me, but credit to Pakistan for playing like it is their final game,” added Firat.
In the second match Djibouti were a better side against Mauritius winning 3-1. The hosts took the lead after 25 minutes through Ashley Nazira to give them a 1-0 lead going to the break. But an own goal by Lindsay Rose leveled matters for Djibouti, while Gabriel Dadzie and Mohamed Fouad scored the other two goals.
The last matches of the 4-Nations Tournament will see Djibouti face Pakistan, while Kenya take on Mauritius.
Meanwhile in another international friendly match played at the Japoma Stadium in Cameroon Uganda Cranes lost 1-0 to DR Congo on Wednesday evening. The Uganda Cranes used the match to prepare ahead of a tricky Group F match in the 2023 TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier against Algeria.
The Uganda Cranes have defeated the Democratic Republic of Congo 2-0 in an International friendly match played in South Africa on Friday.
Youngster James Bogere gave Uganda the lead after seven minutes at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg.
DR Congo who featured in the 2026 FIFA World Cup made some changes to their team that won two matches in their 2027 AFCON qualifiers last month.
The DR Congo team fielding new players Ezechiel Banzuzi (RB Leipzig, Germany), Willy Kambwala (Como, Italy), Jordy Makengo (Freiburg, Germany) and Stephy Mavididi (Watford, England) tried to fight back to find goals, but Uganda Cranes defenders stood strong.
Three minutes into the second half Kelvin Boateng increased Uganda’s lead.
The two teams will again face-off on Monday in a second friendly match in South Africa. The two teams are using the friendly matches to test players and also prepare ahead of the more AFCON 2027 qualifying matches slated for November.
DR Congo are top of Group E in the AFCON qualifiers after defeating Equatorial Guinea and Zimbabwe, while Uganda are also top of Group H after picking a draw away to Tunisia and stopping Libya 1-0 few days ago.
The Harambee Stars of Kenya have settled for a 1-1 draw against Lesotho in an International friendly match played on Thursday in Pretoria, South Africa.
Frank Odhiambo gave Kenya the lead after 14 minutes at the Lucas Moripe Stadium.
The two teams continued to create some decent scoring opportunities, but failed to convert them.
After recess the Lesotho team re-organised themselves and leveled matters through Thabo Makhele. The match ended 1-1 and the two teams will face-off again on June 7th at the same Stadium.
Ethiopia will also be in action against Malawi on June 6th at the Addis Ababa Stadium, and the second match to be played after three days.
The other teams from the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda had their scheduled matches in Morocco cancelled due to sanitary and public health considerations.
The teams are using the FIFA Window to play International friendly matches as they prepare ahead of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2027 qualifiers.
The national team of Kenya will play two International friendly matches against Kyrgyzstan and Palestine next month.
Under the watchful eyes of head coach Benni McCarthy, the Harambee Stars will line up against Palestine on June 3rd, and three days later face hosts Kyrgyzstan.
The two matches will be played during the June FIFA international window.
The technical bench of the team has today named the squad including five new call-ups; Deon Woodman (Wealdstone FC), Sammy Hena-Kamau (Hull City), Micah Obiero (Wealdstone FC), Sydney Agina (Stoke City) and goalkeeper Caleb Kramer (ADO Den Haag).
Although they are automatic qualifiers as co-hosts of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2027, Kenya will also play in the qualifiers that kick-off in September 2026.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Byrne Omondi, Faruk Shikhalo, Caleb Kramer
Defenders: Erick Ouma, Stanley Wilson, Sylvester Owino, Frank Odhiambo, Alphonce Omija, Deon Woodman, Rooney Onyango, Sydney Agina
Midfielders: Richard Odada, Chris Erambo, Clarke Odour, Will Lenkupae, Austine Odhiambo, Zech Obiero
Attackers: Job Ochieng, Mohammed Bajaber, Ben Stanley, Sammy Hena-Kamau, Micah Obiero, Ryan Ogam, Lawrence Okoth
The Ocean Stars of Somalia have defeated hosts Bahrain 2-1 in an International friendly match played on Monday at the Bahrain National Stadium.
Issa Maris gave Bahrain the lead, but Mohamad Omar leveled matters making it 1-1 going into the break.
The home side ranked 90th as per the latest FIFA ranking piled more pressure on Somalia ranked 202nd, but failed to find the goals.
Issa Adam later scored Somalia’s winning goal to record their first win at International level since 2019.
The two teams used the International friendly match to prepare ahead of the FIFA Arab Cup qualifying matches later this month in Qatar.
Bahrain will face Djibouti, while Somalia take on Oman with the two matches slated for November 26th Sudan and South Sudan are the other teams from the CECAFA Zone that will play in the qualification round of the FIFA Arab Cup 2025.
On Saturday Tanzania lost 4-3 in a friendly match against Kuwait, while Djibouti suffered a 6-0 defeat to hosts Morocco.
Meanwhile, two teams from the CECAFA Zone will be involved in International friendly matches on Tuesday with Uganda facing hosts Morocco, Kenya taking on Senegal in a match to be played in Turkey.
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