Case for Moses Shumah: 14 Goals in Zambian League But No Harambee Stars Call-Up

Zambia-based striker Moses Shumah must be feeling disappointed following the release of the Harambee Stars squad for the upcoming FIFA Series.

Kenya will play Estonia, Grenada and Rwanda in a mini-tournament in Kigali between March 23 and 31 and coach Benni McCarthy released his 23-man squad on Friday with some notable names making a return with others getting the nod for the first time.

However, it is in the attacking department where McCarthy’s selection must have raised eyebrows as the most prolific Kenyan striker this season did not get a look-in.

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McCarthy opted for his tried and tested, keeping faith with captain Michael Olunga as well as Ryan Ogam with youngster Lawrence Okoth also called up.

There was no space for Shumah, who has so far scored 14 goals in the Zambian Super League for champions Power Dynamos.

Shumah thought he had caught the eye of McCarthy, especially this week when he has scored five goals in two games, a hat-trick last Sunday against Zesco United and a brace on Thursday against MUZA FC.

That took his tally in the Zambian league to 14 from 23 matches and he still has 11 games to play to increase his goal count. Having also netted twice in the CAF Champions League, Shumah is on 16 goals and such a tally would ordinarily earn a national team call-up.

However, when the squad was named, he was missing. McCarthy has so far called up Shumah twice, in June 2025 during friendly matches against Chad, when he played 75 minutes in the first one as Kenya managed a goalless draw.

He had handed him another call-up for the 2024 African Nations Championships last July but the player secured the transfer to Zambia and pulled out of the squad.

His form for Power Dynamos appeared to be getting him back to the national team setup but McCarthy has opted for Olunga, Ogam and Okoth.

What will ignite debate is that Shumah has outscored all three although they play in higher ranked leagues.

Olunga has so far managed seven goals for Qatari side Al-Arabi while Ogam is no longer playing for Wolfsberger AC in the Austrian Bundesliga but instead turning out for their second-string side for which he has scored three goals.

For Shumah, the message is clear, keep working hard and banging in the goals to make it hard to be overlooked ahead of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.