INTERNATIONAL FREINDLY
Olunga nets hat-trick to guide Kenya win Four Nations tournament Cup
Birthday boy Michael Ogada Olunga netted a hat-trick to guide Kenya to a 3-1 win against Zimbabwe in the 4-Nations tournament that concluded in Blantyre, Malawi on Tuesday.
An early own goal by defender Joseph Okumu gave Zimbabwe the lead at the Bingu Stadium, but the Harambee Stars did not give up and kept and kept pushing forward.
Olunga who was celebrating his 30th birthday later made it 1-1 for Kenya at the stoke of halftime after receiving a pass from Ayub Timbe.
After recess the Zimbabwe coach Norman Mapeza was sent-off, and skipper Teenage Hadebe also saw red for the Warriors for a second bookable offence.
Olunga who plies his trade in Qatar with Al-Duhail netted the second goal after 63 minutes. Kenya was also reduced to 10-men, but Olunga was still in scoring mood to add his third with four minutes to full time.
Engin Firat, the Kenya head coach said that the 4-Nations tournament was a good ground for them to assess the team. “It is good we played and won the two matches and there are things we have learnt,” added Firat. In their first match Kenya humbled Malawi 4-0, while Zimbabwe saw-off Zambia 605 on penalties after a 2-2 draw. Zambia also defeated Malawi 2-1 in a match played on Tuesday.
The four teams Kenya, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi used the tournament as part of preparations for the coming FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers scheduled for June.
In other friendly matches involving CECAFA teams Sudan suffered a 2-1 defeat to Guinea Bissau in a match played on Monday, while Uganda Cranes settled for a 2-2 draw against Ghana in a match played in Marrakech, Morocco on Tuesday.
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.
The national teams of Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda will be involved in International friendly matches during the FIFA International Match Window of November 14-18th, 2025.
Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda will also use the international friendly matches to prepare ahead of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025.
The Sudan team which will also play in the FIFA Arab Cup later this month will face-off against Oman in an International friendly match to be played November 14th in Muscat, Oman.
Uganda Cranes will also be involved in two international friendly matches against Chad and Africa’s top ranked team Morocco. Edgar Watson, the Chief Executive Officer of the Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) announced on Thursday that the national team will face Chad on November 14th and take on Morocco four days later. The two matches will be played in the town of Tangier in Morocco.
The Taifa Stars of Tanzania under new caretaker coach Miguel Gamondi will also play against Kuwait in a match slated for November 14th at the Al Salam Stadium in Cairo, Egypt.
While the AFCON 2025 bound CECAFA teams Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda will be engaged with international matches, the Harambee Stars of Kenya and Burundi will also be engaged with matches during the same period.
Kenya will play two International friendly matches against Madagascar and Senegal between November 14-18th in Antalya, Turkey, while Burundi will host Zambia at the newly renovated Intwari Stadium in Bujumbura.
Uganda Cubs suffered a 2-1 defeat to Panana U-17 team in their second match at the on-going U-17 Dubai Youth Challenge on Sunday.
Simon Wanyama gave Uganda Cubs the lead after 13 minutes at the Al Hamriya Cultural and Sports Club.
But the Panama side earned a penalty later that Gordon Gerson converted after 29 minutes as the match went into the break 1-1.
After recess the Panama team piled more pressure and scored again through Richards Moises after 58 minutes. The Uganda Cubs tried to push forward to find more goals, but failed to convert the numerous scoring opportunities.
“We have learnt some lessons from this match s we prepare ahead of the FIFA U-17 World Cup next month,” said Uganda’s coach Brian Ssenyondo.
Uganda settled for a 1-1 draw against Venezuela a few days ago. The Cubs will take on Paraguay in the last match on October 28th. The three teams in the mini Challenge are using the event to prepare ahead of the FIFA U-17 World Cup to take place in Qatar next month.
Tanzania’s Taifa Stars have suffered a 2-0 defeat to Iran in an International friendly match played at the Rashid Stadium in Dubai on Tuesday.
Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh gave Iran the lead from the spot after 17 minutes. Mohammad Mohebi had been brought down inside the area and referee pointed to the spot.
Taifa Stars tried to re-organise themselves and pushed forward, but failed to find an equalizer.
Later defender Ibrahim Hamd deflcted Mohebi shot after 26 minutes for Iran to go 2-0 up.
In the second half Tanzania made changes bringing on Morice Abraham for Feisal Salum, Lusajo Mwaikenda on for Israel Mwenda, and Charles M’Mombwa went off for Abdul Sopu who came on.
Substitute Alireza Jahanbakhsh later scored another goal for Iran, but it was ruled out for a handball.
Iran who are placed 21st in the latest FIFA ranking had previously lost 2-1 to Russia in another International match played last week.
Tanzania also used the match to prepare ahead of the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025 slated for December 21 to January 18, 2026.
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