Harambee Stars to Play 2022 World Cup Stars Iran

Just a day after the Burundi national team opted out of two friendlies against Kenya's national team, Harambee Stars, the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) has secured a friendly game with Iran that will be played on Tuesday, March 28 in Tehran.

Initially, the Kenyan national team was scheduled to play Burundi in two friendlies during the international break but the two encounters were called off.

FKF had planned to host the two games at the Moi International Sports Centre in Kasarani on March 25 and 28.

A Harambee Stars player in training. /FILE

The games were cancelled after Indonesia requested both Kenya and Burundi to travel to Jakarta and play a three-nation tournament which Kenya opted out of due to delayed communication from the host nation.

Burundi honoured the call and will be travelling to the country to face Indonesia.

Reports also indicated that the invited sides would have played select local sides in what would have been an all-expenses-paid trip.

After the setback, the FKF swung into action to search for an alternative friendly and Iran came calling.

Iran is ranked 24th on the FIFA charts and was in the World Cup that was played in Qatar in 2022.

The nation was pooled in group B of the tournament alongside England, USA, and Wales, where they finished third in the pool.

Kenya on the other hand is ranked 101 and will relish a meeting against a formidable side that boasts of talents such as FC Porto’s forward Mehdi Taremi.

It will be the first time Harambee Stars will be playing a friendly match in over a year due to the suspension FIFA slapped on the country.

The last international game Harambee Stars was involved in was against Rwanda where goals from Michael Olunga and Richard Odada guided them to a 2-1 victory.

It will also be the first time in over two decades that the national team will play a friendly match against a nation ranked above 25th on the FIFA charts. Focus now shifts to Engin Firat, the Harambee Stars coach as he is yet to name the squad for the international break.

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Iran in action against Wales during the 2022 FIFA World Cup. /CNN