By Kei Emmanuel Duku
South Sudan’s Bright Stars arrived Ugandan Capital, Kampala, for a second leg of 2024 African Nations Championship (Chan) qualifiers after 2:0 triumph over Kenyan Harambee Stars at Juba Stadium.
Two second-half goals from Malish Ezbon Wajo and Yahanna Paulino Juma in the 50th and 67th minute gave the Bright’s Stars convening first-leg control over Harambee Stars ahead of the return match in Kampala-Uganda.
Kenya will play their return fixtures against South Sudan in the 2024 CHAN Champion zonal qualifiers in Uganda due to a lack of FIFA-accredited venues.
South Sudan opponents, the Harambee Stars arrived in Kampala on Thursday and will continue with training on Friday and Saturday ahead of tomorrow’s clash at Mandela National Stadium at 4 PM EAT.
A goalless draw or Kenya’s win by less than a goal is enough to take South Sudan to the next round of the competition though Kenya has qualified as co-host alongside Uganda and Tanzania, The Harambee Stars need to win by 3:0, failing that, 2:0 win for Kenya will force the match into a penalty shootout to determine the aggregate winner.
Chan is Africa’s second-tier football tournament, exclusively for players who compete in their respective countries’ domestic leagues.
The aggregate winner between Kenya and South Sudan will move on to the final qualification stage, facing either Djibouti or Rwanda in December. Since Chan’s inception in 2009, Kenya has yet to qualify for the tournament.
Firat has made 11 changes to the squad ahead of the second-leg clash on Sunday, where Kenya needs a 3-0 win to advance or, failing that, a 2-0 result to force a penalty shootout to advance to the second round.
Kenya, though has already qualified for next year’s finals as co-hosts alongside Tanzania and Uganda.
Head Coach has made 11 changes to the squad that traveled to Juba and lost 2:0. The faces in the Harambee squad to face South Sudan on Sunday clash include defenders Abud Omar and Siraj Mohammed, midfielders Fidel Origa and Caleb Olilo, and forward Francis Kahiro.
While those dropped include Rising Stars’ U-20 goalkeeper Ibrahim ‘Babu’ Wanzala, who recently earned the Golden Glove at the Cecafa U-20 tournament in Tanzania, and veteran players like Gor Mahia defender Alphonce Omija and Musa Mohammed of Kenya Police FC are some of the players dropped by Head Coach Engin Firat.