5 Things Learnt During Harambee Stars’ Embarrassing Defeat to Sadio Mane-Inspired Senegal

Kenyan football is once again facing hard questions after the humiliating 8–0 defeat to Senegal, a night that brutally exposed the gulf in class between the Harambee Stars and Africa’s elite. 

From a shaky backline overwhelmed by Sadio Mane and Ismaila Sarr, to the tactical rigidity that left Kenya vulnerable, the loss served as a sobering reminder of just how far the national team must go to compete on the continent.

Yet amid the gloom, the conversation inevitably circles back to a different era—one defined by belief, defiance, and a striker who made Kenya fear none.

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It was a game that exposed the gulf in class between Kenya and Senegal. Exposed the glaring differences between a team ranked 18th in the world and another ranked 109th.

Kenya were 6-0 down before half time, with the star-studded Senegal attack of Sadio Mane, Ismaila Sarr and Nicolas Jackson toying around with Kenya’s backline all night. Despite Kenya’s insistence to play out from the back, they lacked the calibre of players to execute it, and were made to pay dearly.

The fullbacks, Bryton Onyona and Baron Ochieng, making their international bows, looked lost throughout the game, and Brian Bwire looked very shaky in goal.  The midfield of Teddy Akumu and Alpha Onyango barely got a touch of the ball, while the Kenya attackers looked isolated upfront.

In what was a gloom and doomy evening for Kenya on a cold night in Turkey, perhaps this is a result they needed in order to know what they must do in the quest to build a competitive team for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.

It was the second time Benni McCarthy has been made to pay for failing to give top quality opposition the respect they deserve.

Against Gambia, he set the team up to be expansive, with the fullbacks staying high and wide, and it played into the Scorpions’ hands, as the likes of Yankuba Minteh had a field day.

Against Senegal, the same thing happened. He wanted his charges to play out from the back at all times, but the midfielders were not dropping deep to provide options, and in the end, they got punished for it badly. 

McCarthy should have packed the midfield and instructed his teams to stay compact and not give their opponents any space, like it was during the 2024 African Nations Championships against teams like Morocco, and it worked for them.

Benni McCarthy has shown he is tactically flexible like at CHAN 2024, where he set his team up to be compact without the ball against the likes of DR Congo and Morocco, but was expansive against the likes of Zambia and Madagascar.

But he has barely shown this flexibility with the main side, setting up to be expansive at all times. He did that against Senegal, and the result was catastrophic.

As he builds a formidable team for AFCON 2027, perhaps McCarthy may need to add that.

Kenya learnt the hard way that experience is important at the highest of levels. Benni McCarthy has insisted on playing most of the local-based players and U20 AFCON stars for the national side, and their lack of exposure has made the country vulnerable against high quality opposition.

Kenya were ruthlessly punished by Gambia, Ivory Coast and Senegal this year, and perhaps, this calls for players like Joseph Okumu, Michael Olunga and Richard Odada to be reintegrated into the squad.

However embarrassing the result was, it was a reminder that there are no shortcuts in football. Senegal’s starting eleven is composed of players that have been nurtured in Europe from a tender age and are now starting week in and out for top teams in that continent - and even the Saudi Pro League.

With the exception of William Lenkupae and Jonah Ayunga, the rest of Kenya’s starting line up consisted of players who have all plied their trades in Kenya for a considerable amount of time before moving to lower European leagues.

The current Football Kenya Federation office insists that the aim is to qualify for the 2030 and 2034 World Cup, with kids between 10 and 16 likely to be the future. But for them to be nurtured quicker

Kenya’s crushing loss to Senegal may feel like a painful step backward, but it also serves as a necessary wake-up call. 

Experience, structure, and long-term development are essential for any nation that hopes to close the gap with Africa’s best. As the conversation shifts toward rebuilding and preparing for AFCON 2027 and beyond, the country is reminded of what true football leadership once looked like.