Stars wrapped up the tournament which served as FIFA Series friendly matches by winning the trophy, the first under Firat’s reign since taking charge in 2021, and the first since 2017, when they defeated Zanzibar 3-2 in a penalty shootout following a 2-2 draw after extra time to clinch the Council of East and Central (CECAFA) Senior Challenge Cup in Nairobi.
Kenya started the tournament with a 4-0 hammering of hosts Malawi before a hat-trick from captain and striker Michael Olunga propelled them to an emphatic victory against the Warriors in the final at Bingu Stadium.
What did Firat say?
Firat admitted the tournament was a good rehearsal for his side, who are gearing up for their World Cup qualifying matches against Burundi and Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) winners Ivory Coast in June.
“It was a good tournament and it surpassed my expectations, the competition was on the highest level, and every game we played you felt like it was a qualifying game, the tempo was very high and it was a good tournament to gauge the players, the players and technical bench sacrificed and we got the good result,” Firat told Flashcore.
Firat, however, felt despite his efforts to build a strong team, the support from Kenyans was lacking and further called on everyone to rally behind the team.
“I think this team deserves support which is lacking until now and I hope from now on, the belief in this team will get even higher because these boys are representing Kenya and can do even better with great support,” added the Turkish tactician.
The former Moldova coach further defended his decision to play Gor Mahia defender Rooney Onyango as a right winger saying he was more productive in that position than when his club uses him as a right back.
“People are missing all these important points, let me give one example, look at Rooney (Onyango), he made one assist and won the penalty (against Malawi), the last match against Seychelles (in the qualifiers) he made one assist and scored one goal.
"So, in two matches he has better statistics than all season in Gor Mahia and nobody sees these, why? Because I put him on the right wing while in Gor (Mahia) he plays as a right back, it is always politics and not about football,” explained Firat.
On his decision to substitute defender Daniel Anyembe, in the game against Malawi, Firat said: “He (Anyembe) was out for nearly five months because of his knee injury, he never played 90 minutes and, therefore, I had to take care of him, I had to see how he responded and remember we played seven local players, so I had to rotate my team, but it is funny four players played for the first time but nobody talks about it.”
Good preparations for qualifiers
Olunga, who finished the tournament with five goals, having scored two in the win against the Flames, termed the tournament a good preparation for their qualifying fixtures against the Swallows and the Elephants.
“To win the trophy is important and a good confidence booster for the boys because the team is now coming up quite well, we have a good squad of young players and experienced boys, so we used the tournament as good preparation,” said Olunga, who turns out for Qatar Stars League outfit Al Duhail SC.
Football Kenya Federation (FKF) President Nick Mwendwa, who had accompanied the team to Lilongwe, said winning the trophy was just the beginning of good things to come.
“I want to congratulate the boys, we know that the last trophy we won was in 2017 CECAFA, this was a Four-Nations tournament and it was not easy, but the team still went ahead and won the trophy, kudos to them,” Mwendwa told Flashscore.
“I also congratulate the coach for setting up this team and working so hard over a few years to achieve these, we are very elated but this is just the beginning, so while we are happy, we are not celebrating yet because there is much more to come and the plan is there to do.”
Mwendwa concluded: I just ask for more support (for the team), it was not easy, we have gone through a painful stretch before and we finally won a trophy, now we go again in June, and we get ready for matchday four and five against Burundi and for Ivory Coast as well.”
Kenya launched their Group F World Cup qualifying campaign with a 2-1 defeat against Gabon before recovering to hammer Seychelles 5-0 to revive their hopes of fighting for a ticket to the 2026 showpiece.
