It is the dream of every football player to feature for the Kenya National Team, Harambee Stars. Not many, however, have had a chance to feature competitively for the team, let alone being called up to camp.
Teamkenya.co.ke has a look at five players who made the most appearances for the national team and the goals they scored.
Musa Otieno
Musa made 90 appearances as a defender between 1993 and 2009, the most by any Kenyan, scoring nine goals in the process.
His first appearance came in 1993 at the age of 19 against Zaire, when he was in High School.
He captained the team on multiple occasions and was also part of the team that qualified for the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations.
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Jonathan Niva
Niva featured for the Harambee Stars between 1965 and 1976, making 88 appearances for the team. He played as a defender for both AFC Leopards and Gor Mahia in the local league.
He died in 2001 aged 58 and shall be remembered as an influential player and a coach in 1972. He also served as Football Kenya Federation’s Technical Director.
Allan Thigo
The revered striker featured for the Harambee Stars between 1968 and 1979, making 81 appearances in the process. He scored 11 goals.
Thigo played for Kisumu Hot Stars and Gor Mahia in the local league and is currently serving as Africa Nazarene University’s Soccer Coach.
John Nyawanga
Nyawanga made 80 appearances as a forward for the Harambee Stars between 1965 and 1976, scoring 17 goals.
He turned out for Abaluhya United (now AFC Leopards) and Kenya Breweries (now Tusker).
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Dennis Oliech
The striker, who is Harambee Stars’ second-best scorer, made 76 appearances for the Harambee Stars between 2002 and 2016.
He was in hot form as a youngster when he scored the goal that famously propelled the Harambee Stars to the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations.
Oliech scored 34 goals for the team, a feat only surpassed by William 'Chege' Ouma, now deceased.
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