Red-hot Shabana FC wonderkid Austine Odongo has broken his silence over his omission from the Kenya U20 squad, which left the country on Monday morning for the U20 Africa Cup of Nations (U20 AFCON) finals in Egypt.Despite scoring goals for fun and his overall performance in the Football Kenya Federation Premier League (FKFPL), Odongo did not find favour with the Rising Stars’ technical bench, as he was neither drafted in the provisional nor the final squad for the tournament.Follow Our WhatsApp Channel For More News##NAJAVA_MECA_8867633##His exclusion did not sit well with Shabana fans and other football stakeholders, who have held the belief that his performances at club level were enough to guarantee him a slot in the team.Kenya U20 head coach Salim Babu picked Kakamega Homeboyz’ Oliver Majaka, MOFA’s Lawrence Ouma, and Gor Mahia’s Mark Shaban as the team’s strikers for the tournament, which is scheduled to run from Sunday, 27 April to Sunday, 18 May.##NAJAVA_MECA_8868111##In an exclusive interview with Mozzart Sport, Odongo revealed that he had made peace with the fact that he would not be part of the AFCON team after failing to make the cut during the trials conducted in February.Before coach Babu announced the provisional squad in March, he conducted a three-day scouting minicamp in Nairobi aimed at sifting for the best.Shabana coach bewildered by omission of red-hot club striker from Rising StarsOdongo, who joined Shabana before the start of the season, said he harboured no hard feelings over his omission and the lost opportunity to showcase his marksmanship on a bigger stage.“I gave my best in the trials, but it was not good enough. The U20 team coaches were kind enough to share my weaknesses and the reasons for my release from camp. Since then, I have been polishing the areas they identified. Not securing a place in the U20 team did not affect me negatively, as I made peace with it in February. I wish the team well in Egypt,” opened up the forward commonly known as Lastborn.Kenya U20 ace hoping to earn a move to Sweden after trialsMeanwhile, Odongo expressed optimism about ascending to the national senior team and possibly making his debut in the African Nations Championship (CHAN) finals in August.The youngster, who has five league goals in the last three matches, believes that hitting double digits will possibly be enough to earn him a place in the senior team.“There is always next time. The focus is to help my team win matches in the remainder of the season. I am confident of getting a slot in the senior team for the CHAN finals if I get past the ten-goal mark,” he added.
