Harambee Stars take on Malawi in Four-Nations opener after dramatic tournament buildup

The Kenya men’s national senior football team is set to open their four-nations campaign against hosts Malawi on Saturday evening at the Bingu National Stadium.

Harambee Stars will be seeking to emulate the good work done by the U20 side popularly known as the Rising Stars who walloped Zimbabwe 3-1 in their opening encounter on Friday.

Rising Stars scored their goals through Migori Youth’s Elly Owande and AFC Leopard’s gifted forward Hassan Beja to secure their position at the top of the table.

The Engin Firat-coached side will also be hoping to pick from where they left off in their last international assignment where they thrashed Seychelles 5-0 in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers back in November 2023.

Play here and stand a chance of winning the over 356 Million SportPesa Mega Jackpot

However, Harambee Stars go into the eagerly anticipated match without some of its dependable players, especially in the defense.

According to Firat, Daniel Ayembe and Stade de Reim’s center-back Joseph Okumu will have to be assessed before the game due to injury concerns.

“Everyone in Kenya knows how many players are missing, and also at the last minute before we traveled, we changed two players again. I don’t know exactly if they can play, that is Ayembe and Okumu, but we will see at the last minute,” stated Firat ahead of the crunch clash.

Meanwhile, skipper Michael Olunga was confident of his teammates doing well in the tournament.

ALSO READ: Sensational Okutoyi bags African tennis title, inches closer to historic Olympic qualification

“We have done our preparation and homework and everybody is ready and motivated like the coach has said. It is good to bring in some new players in the team with the sight of the World Cup qualifiers,” commented the Al Duhail goal machine.

Coach Firat is expected to make some changes in his attacking lineup with St. Mirren’s forward Jonah Ayunga likely to be part of the front line.

On the other hand, the hosts do not have a lot of injury concerns to worry about ahead of the upcoming tie.

What time does Malawi vs Kenya start?

The match is scheduled to kick off at 6 PM Kenyan time at the Bingu Stadium in Lilongwe and it will be live on KBC.

ALSO READ: How to watch Harambee Stars matches in Four Nations Tournament

Malawi vs Kenya Possible starting lineups

Malawi: Thom, Cholopi, Mzava, Ngwenya, Chembezi, Willard, Kuwali, Gumbo, Mhango, Mbulu, Muyaba

Kenya: Matasi, Nondi, Omurwa, Sichenje, Ochieng, Odada, Akumu, Muguna, Onyango, Ayunga, Masika

Malawi vs Kenya Head-to-head

Harambee Stars and Malawi have met eight times in recent decades with each of the teams emerging victorious on two occasions. Four of those matches ended in a draw.

Kenya has however not tasted defeat in the last five meetings against Malawi (W2 D3).

The most recent meeting between Kenya and Malawi which was played in September 2018 ended 1-0 in favor of Harambee Stars.

ALSO READ: Kayole driver reaps 3.4 million after unique SportPesa Mega Jackpot trip