Hate them or love them but Gor Mahia is and has been the best team in the Kenya Premier League for the past three years. Good teams have the best players and the best players deserve to be in the national team.
It is therefore surprising that the Harambee Stars technical bench would call two goalkeepers from Kariobangi Sharks, a team that is number 10 in the league and has conceded 29 goals? Why not go for Peter Odhiambo, one of the stand out players in the CAF Confederations cup this season?
Gor Mahia, the Reigning, Defending, Kenyan Champions have 3 Players (ONLY) in the named Harambee Stars Squad to AFCON pic.twitter.com/rGDe9r6JXX
— Njuguna Nyenjeri (@ECDGraduate) May 14, 2019
Anyone who follows African football will agree with me that Odhiambo has played a huge role in Gor’s run to the Quarter Finals this season. He deserved to be on that plane to Egypt.
Kariobangi Sharks Reserve Goal Keeper named in the Harambee Stars Squad for Afcon. pic.twitter.com/UUHr81z6aa
— Njuguna Nyenjeri (@ECDGraduate) May 14, 2019
Why would Migne select Joseph Okumu, a player whose form we can’t really tell since he has not enjoyed much game time at Real Monarchs this season and leave out Gor captain Haron Shakava? Shakava has led his club in the CAF CC this season and is better than Brian Mandela who is on the brink of relegation at Maritzburg United in South Africa.
Perhaps it is my natural cynicism about Harambee Stars but is AFCON really the ideal place to give a debut to a 27 year old, playing in the Swedish 3rd tier who's career high is a 6 appearance season for Port Vale?
— Naythan Din-Kariuki (@Naythan_DK) May 14, 2019
In midfield, why should Sebastien Migne leave out Kenneth Muguna, the most improved player in the KPL this season and instead go for the little known Zimbabwean Christopher Mbamba who only got a Kenyan Passport in February this year and has not scored two goals in the past three years?
Uncapped Sweden-born Chris Mbamba the surprise inclusion in Harambee Stars squad for 2019 @AFCON2019_en, Zesco’s Jesse Were left out again. pic.twitter.com/EFjin03ftc
— Radio Citizen (@RadioCitizenFM) May 14, 2019
Ovella Ochieng is a great player, but is he better than Samuel Onyango, going on current form? Why should the national team include a player who plays in Lybia when we have Nicholas Kipkirui?
Every player in the national team should be there on merit lakini hapa Migne ametucheza