Kenya U-20 team at a past match. They are preparing for junior championships. [Photo/Voiceofsport.net]
Kenya under-20 head coach Paul Odera has named six foreign-based players in his squad, as he prepares for the junior championships.
According to Odera, he added the foreign-based players to add experience to the team as he seeks to build on the success they have enjoyed in the past.
“I believe the foreign-based players are also part of our future generation and having them on board for the championship will add more depth, speed, strength, and confidence in my squad.
“The foreign-based are calm and more developed in the game since they began playing at an early stage and all have been with us in the past and they are players who we know very well. Some like Mark and Jeff Mutuku have been part of the team for the last two years,” said Odera when he spoke to the media.
The experienced tactician has included Mark Mutuku of Canterbury University (New Zealand), Michael Amolo (Leeds University, United Kingdom) and South Africa based trio of Toby Francombe (Western Province Academy), Andrew Simiyu (Hillcrest High School) and Jeff Mutuku (Kings Wood College).
He added that he has been trying out many formations and strategies, and feels the inclusion of the foreign-based players will be a big plus.
“I want to improve on our defense, especially our tackling technique; we missed 34 tackles against Namibia and 37 tackles against Zimbabwe, which is not good for a team that has ambitions of participating in the junior championship,” Odera added.
The team will face Zimbabwe, with the winner facing either Namibia or Madagascar.