Harambee Stars midfielder Richard Odada has explained how the absence of Kenyan captain Michael Olunga affected the team in their last two games.Olunga, who plays for Qatar Stars League club Al-Duhail, missed Kenya’s first two games of the 2025 AFCON qualifiers against Zimbabwe and Namibia, respectively, due to injury.##NAJAVA_MECA_8325773##In his absence, Harambee Stars coach Engin Firat opted to start the match against Zimbabwe without a natural striker, despite having three strikers on the bench, perhaps highlighting just how important his captain is to his plans.Speaking to Fred Arocho after Kenya’s win against Namibia, Odada revealed how much they missed Olunga.“He is an important player and member of this team. We missed him in these two matches. I believe he could have scored maybe two goals today and in the match against Zimbabwe,” said Odada.Odada, who plies his trade with Scottish Premiership side Dundee United, said that he looks forward to Olunga’s return to the national team fold.“We hope that he will have recovered and be available for us in the next round of matches.”Harambee Stars stranded in South AfricaThe 23-year-old also stated that the win over Namibia will boost the morale of the Kenyan players.“It is a good win and motivation for the team. Kenyans demand more from us, and we also demand more from ourselves as players,” he stated.He, however, said that they are not yet satisfied as a team because they have yet to achieve their main goal—booking a place in the tournament’s finals in Morocco.“We must keep pushing. It is our dream to go to the Africa Cup of Nations, and so we must keep working hard to achieve that goal,” he added.The win took Kenya to the summit of Group J with 4 points, the same as their next opponents, Cameroon, who were held to a goalless draw by Zimbabwe in the other group match played on Monday evening at Nelson Mandela Stadium (Namboole) in Kampala, Uganda.Nairobi City Stars CEO explains limited activity in concluded transfer window
