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Rising Stars' chances of making the quater finals are slimmer than ever following their loss to Tunisia due to unecessary defensive blunders.
Rising Stars assistant coach Anthony Akhulia has explained what his charges must do to still stand a chance of qualifying for the knockout rounds following their 3-1 loss to Tunisia in their second clash of the 2025 U20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) taking place in Egypt.
Salim Babu’s team faced a must-win situation when they took on the North Africans, following their 3-2 loss to Morocco on Thursday.
Rising Stars went ahead first when Lawrence Ouma broke the deadlock in the 38th minute after good work from Hassan Beja.
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The AFC Leopards winger twisted and turned his markers before squaring a good ball to Ouma, who slotted home from inside the box, and they looked headed to halftime leading 1-0.
However, with 11 minutes added on, Tunisia leveled via the penalty spot. Goalkeeper Clifford Oduor did well to keep out a good ball but Baron Ochieng was adjudged to have handled the rebound and after a VA check, Tunisia got an opportunity from the spot which was scored by Fares Bousnina.
After the break, more mistakes ensued from Kenya when Oduor made a mess of a cross from Nacim Dendani, failing to deal with the ball while tangling with one of his defenders, and Ben Ali was just there to tap into the net with 20 minutes to go.
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Tunisia then took their foot off the pedal but still got the third in some fortunate fashion. Following a quick break, Alaedine Derbali brought in a speculative ball, which was meant to be a cross, but the ball somehow found its way into the top corner with Oduor left dazed.
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Akhulia: We did not play well
Speaking after the match, a visibly frustrated Akhulia admitted his side had been second best on the day.
“I congratulate Tunisia. They had a good game. They scored their chances and they won the match,” he said.
“On our side, I think we didn't play well. Comparing this match to our first match, we were a bit slow in our movement. Our midfield didn’t click that much.”
Akhulia lamented the pattern of conceding late in the first half, an issue that has now plagued Kenya in both of their group games.
“We are having lapses towards the end of the first half. It happened again today. In our first match, it happened the same,” he noted.
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“The stoppages in the match — every time we were moving forward — affected us. There were so many injuries. They added minutes, of course they were to be added, but we lost concentration at that moment.”
He admitted defensive disorganization remains a major concern despite attempted changes after the Morocco loss.
“We tried changing the defense line again. Again, we’ve conceded three goals. It’s a team problem — you can’t single out individuals.
"It’s a concern for us, the technical staff. We will do our best so that in our next match we don’t concede the way we are conceding goals.”
What next for Rising Stars?
Rising Stars now face a do-or-die clash against Nigeria on Wednesday. A win will keep their hopes alive of sneaking into the quarter-finals as one of the best third-placed teams, but anything less will end their campaign.
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