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Michael Olunga urges focus as Harambee Stars aim for revenge in the crucial 2025 AFCON qualifier against Cameroon

Michael Olunga urges focus as Harambee Stars aim for revenge in the crucial 2025 AFCON qualifier against Cameroon

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Olunga is urging focus as Harambee Stars seek revenge against Cameroon in a crucial 2025 AFCON qualifier.

Harambee Stars captain Michael Olunga has urged his teammates to remain focused ahead of their crucial 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier against Cameroon on Monday.

Although Olunga is not eligible for the game due to a hamstring injury, he believes Kenya can bounce back from the disappointing 4-1 defeat in the first leg and push for a positive result in the second leg.

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The Harambee Stars were left reeling after Cameroon dismantled them on Friday evening with Olunga scoring the only goal for the Kenyan side.

The heavy defeat was a setback to the team's AFCON qualification hopes, but Olunga urged his teammates to learn from their mistakes and approach the rematch with renewed determination.

“Of course we know the opponent, how we played in the last two days. It wasn’t an easy game for us, but of course we have to learn from the first leg.”

We want to make up for our mistakes and really play the real football that Kenya deserves. “We just want to come here with a positive attitude and start the game strong,” said Olunga before the decisive game.

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The Al Duial goalscorer admitted that Cameroon are a strong team but stressed that the Kenyan team should concentrate on their own game and not focus too much on the opponents' strengths.

“We didn't start strongly in the last game but we want to try to keep our opponents at bay and get positive results. Of course it's a strong team, you can see all the departments, they are very strong, but I think this is football and as I said, in the last game we made a lot of mistakes,” he added.

Olunga, who scored his 30th international goal in the defeat, is just five goals away from equaling William Ouma's record as the Harambee Stars' all-time top goalscorer.

Despite his personal milestone, the striker remains focused on the team's success rather than individual accolades.

“It will come down to what we can do as a team. We don't want to focus so much on the opponents, we've already seen them. We know they have weaknesses and we will try to exploit them in the upcoming game,” he remarked, expressing optimism about the team's chances.

The Harambee Stars hold their last training session and want revenge against Cameroon

The Harambee Stars face a crucial AFCON qualifier against Cameroon after their last training session in Uganda.


The loss to Cameroon was Kenya's first in eight games but Olunga is confident the team can turn things around. He pointed out that the group was still open: Cameroon was leading with seven points and Zimbabwe was just one point ahead of Kenya.

“Of course the table is quite open, Cameroon is only 7 points away from us, Zimbabwe is only 1 point away from us. So everything is up for grabs, we can’t talk about a loss of hope at the moment.”

We have one game and we still have two more games to go. That's why it's very important to keep focus, especially in this game, that's very important. “You see, Cameroon is one of the favorites in the group.” he concluded.

Harambee Stars head coach Engin Firat is hoping for a stronger performance from his side in the rematch as they look to avenge their defeat and keep their AFCON qualification hopes alive.

Firat's side were unbeaten in Group J before the defeat, having recorded a 0-0 draw against Zimbabwe and a 2-1 win against Namibia in their previous games.

“It would have been nice if we could have played at home in Kenya, but I would also like to thank Uganda and its federation for allowing us to host here. We want to come here and also represent East Africa in general.” Olunga concluded.

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