Harambee Stars will host the Intamba mu Rugamba of Burundi today in a 2026 World Cup qualifier at the Bingu National Stadium, Lilongwe city, Malawi at 4PM East African Time.Kenya will host the match in Malawi because of the lack of a CAF approved stadium in the country. Kenya has only hosted one international match in over 2 years with the last match being a friendly against South Sudan in Kasarani Stadium in September 2023.After two rounds of matches,Ivory Coast lead group F with 6 points, same as Gabon but with a superior goal difference. Both Kenya and Burundi have 3 points but Kenya occupy the third position for having a better goal difference. Gambia and Seychelles are the other teams in the group at position five and six respectively with zero points each.Kenya started their World Cup qualifying campaign with a 2-1 defeat in the hands of Gabon before responding with a 5-0 triumph against Seychelles in the second match. Harambee Stars will be hoping to build on their recent run of form that has seen them win all their last three matches if they are to keep their World Cup hopes alive.Kenya has only lost one of the six matches against Burundi, winning three and drawing two. They therefore look favorites to win the match. This is also backed up by the fact that they rank higher in the FIFA rankings at number 109 than Burundi who occupy number 140.Harambee Stars head coach Engin Firat says that his team is ready to face Burundi despite the injury problems that have hit his camp.“Everything is okay. We needed to also prepare mentally for the match. We have players missing but we will put forward 11 Kenyan boys on the field and we will give our best.”Burundi failed to build on their opening World Cup qualifiers 3-2 win over Gambia when they fell to a 2-1 loss at the hands of Gabon in a match played at the Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium due to lack of a CAF approved stadium back home.They now occupy the 4th position and will look forward to putting in a good shift that will get them a win over Kenya.They will however have to dig deep as their form in the last few matches is wanting. They are winless in their last four matches that include three defeats with their last win being the match against Gambia.The form is even worse when you consider away matches. They have now won any of their last seven away matches with their last win traced back to March 2022, a 2-1 win against Liberia in a friendly match.Olunga warns Harambee Stars mates not to underrate BurundiGoalkeeper Jonathan Nahimana who was in goal in 2017 when Kenya beat Burundi in the Semi finals of the CECAFA Senior Cup says it will be a tough game“I still have memories of the CECAFA defeat to Kenya, 7 years later. This game will be very important and tough one,“ he is quoted as saying. ##NAJAVA_MECA_8142191##His sentiments were echoed by teammate Gael Bigirimana who told Mozzart Sport that he expects a competitive match.“I have never been involved in a game against Kenya but I have gathered sufficient information from my teammates on the kind of players we will come up against. I expect the game to be very competitive.”Kenya World Cup Qualifying form: LWKenya form in all competitions: LDLWWWBurundi World Cup Qualifying form: WLBurundi form in all competitions: LWLLLDTeam newsThe Harambee Stars camp has been hit with several injuries to key players and will be without Erick “Marcelo” Ouma, Joseph Okumu, Ayub Timbe, Masoud Juma and Eric Johana who went AWOL after their day off last Saturday.In the absence of Okumu, Sichenje is likely to partner Omurwa at the heart of defense with Bristol City defender Zak Vyner also an option. Abud Omar looks an obvious choice at left back. Serbian, Finnish clubs eye Harambee Stars defenderGor Mahia’s Austin Odhiambo will also be a key ingredient in Firat’s attacking options with his form in the league being impressive.In Burundi’s camp, Abedi Bigirimana has scored in four of his last five matches for Burundi and will be keen to continue with that form against Kenya.Coach Etienne Ndayiragije will also be able to call upon SC Feyenoord midfielder Jamir Naudts.Just like Harambee Stars, some key players are out for the Intamba.Captain Sadio Berahino is unavailable for Burundi. Dependable Sweden based defender Fredrick Nsabiyumva who had earlier been named in the squad is also aout and so is Portugal-based Nduwarugira Christophe and Bimenyimana Caleb. Kanakimana Bienvenue who plays for Jablonec in Czech Republic is also out of the game.
