Harambee Stars head coach Engin Firat says he is focused on mentoring the national youth teams even as the national side prepares to tackle Iran in an international friendly in Tehran on March 28.
Firat notes that for Harambee Stars to qualify for the World Cup in the near future he needs to work closely with the youth system which the team will depend on in the coming years, noting that he’ll need time to instil his football philosophy to the squad
“We try not only to build our team; we need to build under -23, under-20 because we need to have a clear vision of World Cup qualifiers”, he stated.
He added, “There are players who are not in the team but I can not only focus on one side, for this you will understand they all need to play,” he said.
The national team tactician at the same time believes Iran will offer a good test for his side and results will not be his main focus.
“Iran was in the World Cup in Qatar and that is why I preferred playing against them because we will learn a lot from them,” e explained.
Harambee Stars have been in the cold for more than a year since FIFA’s suspension and will be using the friendly to gauge the squad ahead of other international assignments.
Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba had set a 2030 target for Harambee Stars to grace football biggest extravaganza – the World Cup.
