No love lost as Harambee Stars, Uganda Cranes clash

There will be no love lost when arch-rivals Kenya and Uganda clash from 3pm on Thursday in an international friendly match at Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos.

Harambee Stars, who will be in action for the first time this year, will later tackle Les Leopards of the Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday in another friendly match at the same venue.

Stars will use this match as part of their early preparations for qualifiers to the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations that begin in June.

Cranes on the other hand are in the running for a place in the 2018 Russia World Cup. They face Egypt in August in their next qualifier.

But with the Africa Nations Championships (Chan) qualifiers lurking, Uganda Cranes’ Serbian coach Milutin “Micho” Sredojevic has named a squad that is heavy in local-based players, with goalkeepers Benjamin Ochan and Ismail Watenga back in the fold.

Defender Timothy Awany, midfielders Yasser Mugerwa and Muzamir Mutyaba, and strikers Geoffrey Sserunkuma and Emmanuel Okwi are also in the team for the potentially explosive match.

Sredojevic left out Mamelodi Sundowns custodian Dennis Onyango, Robert Odongkara (Saint George, Ethiopia) and Salim Jamal (Al Merreikh, Sudan) as well as former Gor Mahia midfielder Khalid Aucho, who were part of the team that represented Uganda in the Cup of Nations in Gabon in January this year.

“We have the World Cup and Chan qualifiers so we needed to have a good balance of the local players as well as the international ones. This match will be a good test for the local-based players because they are the majority in the team,” coach Micho said on Tuesday. 

Defender Timothy Awany, midfielders Yasser Mugerwa and Muzamir Mutyaba, and strikers Geoffrey Sserunkuma and Emmanuel Okwi are also in the squad for the potentially explosive match.

Micho left out Mamelodi Sundowns custodian Dennis Onyango, Robert Odongkara (Saint George, Ethiopia) and Salim Jamal (Al Merreikh, Sudan) as well as former Gor Mahia midfielder Khalid Aucho who were part of the team that represented Uganda in the Cup of Nations in Gabon in January this year.

“We have the World Cup and Chan qualifiers so we needed to have a good balance of the local players as well as the international ones. This match will be a good test for the local-based players because they are the majority in the team,” coach Micho said on Tuesday.

Stars coach Stanley Okumbi on the other hand released injured Tusker midfielder Humphrey Mieno as well as Sammy Meja, Maurice Ojwang, Jeremiah Wanjala and Vincent Oburu from his squad on Wednesday.

This was a day after Erick Ouma (Georgia), Ayub Timbe (China) and Erick Johanna (Sweden) withdrew from the squad asking for time to settle down in their new clubs, after which Okumbi summoned unattached winger Paul Were.

The soft-spoken Okumbi started his reign on a wrong footing, losing his first two matches against Guinea Bissau in the 2017 Cup of Nations qualifiers last year but has since steadied ship and gone for eight matches without tasting defeat.

“The team is okay and we are looking forward to the match. Every match is a competitive one for me so we are going for a win,” he said.

Skipper Victor Wanyama is likely to partner Royal Antwerp’s Johanna Omolo in midfield with Okumbi set to stick with his 4-4-2 formation that often has David Owino, Brian Mandela, Aboud Omar and Joackins Atudo starting in defence.

China-based Michael Olunga has not played competitively since December last year, but he is still favourite to lead the Stars’ attack alongside Zesco United striker Jesse Were.

Stars battled to a barren draw with Uganda in their last meeting in September last year in Kampala after which Cranes went on to beat Comoros 1-0 that weekend to qualify for their first Cup of Nations in 38 years.

Tickets prices have been set at Sh100 and Sh300 for terrace and VIP respectively.