Engin Firat’s woes deepen as Kenya fall to S.Sudan

Harambee Stars coach Engin Firat’s woes deepened Sunday after his team lost 2-0 to hosts South Sudan in the first leg of the first round of the 2024 African Nations Championship (Chan) qualifiers.

The match was played at Juba International Stadium. After a hard-fought, scoreless first half, South Sudan’s Bright Stars broke the deadlock in the 50th minute through Ezibon Malish.

Paulino Yohanna extended the hosts’ lead in the 68th minute, securing a 2-0 advantage that they held firmly until the final whistle.

The return leg has been scheduled for November 3 at Mandela National Stadium in Kampala. The aggregate winner of the contest will face either Djibouti or Rwanda in the second round, which will also be the final stage of the qualifiers, which will be held between December 20 and 29.

Chan is Africa’s second-tier football tournament, exclusively for players who compete in their respective countries' domestic leagues.

Neighbours Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania are participating in the 2024 Chan qualifiers, despite each having already secured automatic spots in the tournament as co-hosts. 

The continental championships will take place from February 1 to 28 next year.

Firat was under pressure heading into the match against South Sudan since Kenya suffered two successive losses against Cameroon’s ‘Indomitable Lions’ in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) Group “J” qualifiers early this month.

Cameroon defeated Kenya 4-1 and 1-0 respectively. But with Harambee Stars having held just a single warm-up session on Thursday before they departed for Juba, it was expected that they would struggle against the hosts.

Firat had on Saturday protested Caf’s decision to have Kenya take part in the qualifiers, yet they have qualified automatically.