Despite Harambee Stars missing on the opportunity to grace the elimination phase of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, skipper Michael Olunga was left impressed with the contribution of local based players in the qualifiers.Stars finished third in group E of the qualifiers behind Uganda and Mali, and will subsequently be reduced to spectators in next year’s global showpiece in Qatar.Olunga showed the local arsenals for punching above the weight in one of the biggest football stages and encouraged them to keep the good work up. Former Stars head coach Jacob ‘Ghost’ Mulee who manned the opening two qualifiers didn’t hide his affinity for local players as he incorporated them in the team with his predecessor Engin Firat also giving them a chance in the remaining rounds.Proud of every effort from the team Thank you Lord for the goal once again🇰🇪🇰🇪🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/oRL8Vd19U2— MICHAEL OLUNGA (@OgadaOlunga) November 15, 2021 “We might have failed to hit the ultimate goal but there are a lot of positives to pick from the qualifiers. I was impressed with how the local based players performed in the matches. It was a big stage and the exposure they got from it will go a long way in bettering them,” said the Al Duhail forward who finished the qualifier with three goals.With Stars set to return to action next year in the next international window, the former Gor Mahia forward challenged the team to maximize on home advantage in the next assignments. Stars dropped four points from the qualifiers after playing Uganda to a barren draw in the opener before losing to Mali by a solitary goal in the fourth round.🙏🏾🇰🇪 pic.twitter.com/nlAofZJOGj— MICHAEL OLUNGA (@OgadaOlunga) November 16, 2021 “The qualifiers have shown us the importance of making home advantage count. We have put more efforts when we return to action next year,” he added.At the same time, Olunga who inherited the armband from Victor Wanyama called on his teammates to work their socks off at club level so as to the benefit of the national team going forward.
