Harambee Stars coach explains dropping Michael Olunga
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Reading Time: 2min | Wed. 12.11.25. | 07:32
The Harambee Stars skipper headlined the list of some big names that were overlooked in coach Benni McCarthy’s squad for the upcoming friendly matches against Equatorial Guinea and Senegal in Turkey
The Kenya senior men's national football team, Harambee Stars, assistant coach Vasili Manousakis, has opened up on the exclusion of team captain Michael Olunga from the latest squad.
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The Harambee Stars skipper headlined the list of some big names that were overlooked in coach Benni McCarthy’s squad for the upcoming friendly matches against Equatorial Guinea and Senegal in Turkey.
Speaking to the media during Kenya’s final training session in Nairobi on Tuesday, 11 November at the Nyayo National Stadium, Manousakis, holding a brief for McCarthy, who was unavailable, explained the absence of the Al Arabi striker.
“Some players missed due to a tight congestion of fixtures in their domestic leagues. We gave time off to some guys like Michael Olunga and Collins Sichenje. That was the thinking behind it, we had to freshen the team,” said Manousakis.
Kenya’s match against Equatorial Guinea is set for Friday, 14 November, the same day that Al Arabi will play Shamal in round six of the Qatar Stars League (QSL) Cup.
Olunga, who recently returned from injury, will therefore remain on club duty as he seeks to lead the attack on the day.
Apart from the duo, the South African tactician also took time to list the key players who are sidelined with injury for the two friendly matches.
“There have been a lot of injuries and niggles in the team, such as Adam Wilson, Job Ochieng, Manzur Okwaro, Vincent Harper, Timothy Ouma and Eric Ouma,” he said.
Despite the absence of the senior players, Manousakis exuded confidence in the ability of the squad to give a good account of themselves.
“It is an opportunity for the upcoming and new players to get a chance and perform because it is a friendly match and there is no pressure,” he noted.
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After the match against Equatorial Guinea, Kenya will face Senegal on Tuesday, 18 November, where the latter will arrive in Turkey after facing record world champions Brazil.
