Kenya vs Senegal: Inside Surprise Fixture That Caught Harambee Stars Coaches Off Guard

Benni McCarthy boys face an unexpected test against African giants in Turkey as the coaching staff navigates surprise fixtures.

Harambee Stars technical bench had no prior knowledge of a friendly match being organised between Kenya and Senegal, assistant coach Vasili Manousakis has said. 

The sudden inclusion of the African champions in the team's itinerary has turned a routine international break into a high-stakes test for the Kenyan national team.

The Harambee Stars will play the Afcon 2021 winners in Antalya, Turkey, just four days after facing Equatorial Guinea in another friendly match in the same city. 

Kenya have played Senegal four times before, all of which were Afcon matches, where the West African giants proved dominant. Senegal defeated Kenya 3-0 in 1992, 2004, and 2019, with the teams only playing to a 0-0 draw back in 1990.

In contrast to the daunting history with Senegal, the Harambee Stars have met Equatorial Guinea once before, winning the 2018 friendly match in Nairobi 1-0.

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While the technical bench was preparing for specific opponents to close out the year, the confirmation of the Senegal fixture came as a complete curveball during their logistical planning.

“Playing Senegal was a nice surprise for us. We don’t know how it happened or who agreed to the fixture. We were discussing playing Comoros or Madagascar, but I think things changed, and we ended up with Equatorial Guinea. Later, Senegal was added,” said the South African as per Nation.

A Formidable Test for Development

Manousakis, 52, spoke on Tuesday afternoon at Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi during the team’s final training session before departing for Turkey on Wednesday morning.

He hailed Senegal as formidable rivals who will provide the Harambee Stars players with an opportunity to “test themselves against some of the best players in the world”.

Manousakis stood in for Harambee Stars coach Benni McCarthy at the training session.

 “McCarthy was renewing his passport, which has been sorted, and he will meet up with us in Turkey,” Manousakis said. 

The assistant coach emphasized that despite the surprise nature of the fixture, the focus remains on growth and results.

“We have our work cut out for us against two strong teams. While they are focusing on Afcon, we are developing a new crop of players. We have local players who perform consistently week after week. We wish we could have picked more of them for these friendly matches because there are many more players in form,” Manousakis stated.

“Our goal is to win because that’s what it’s all about. Difficult matches like these will help the team grow.”

New Faces and Strategic Absences

The Stars’ squad for the matches features maiden call-ups for Aldrine Kibet of the Celta Vigo reserve team, Gor Mahia’s Bryton Onyona, and Nairobi United’s Kevin Otiende.

 Others, such as Baron Ochieng (Zamalek), Ovellah Ochieng (Nairobi United), and Sharif Musa (Gor Mahia), are returning after long absences.

“The objective is to give them a taste of international football and see how they respond. We also wanted to shake things up in the squad. The players have a good opportunity because there will be less pressure on them since they are playing friendly matches,” said Manousakis of the inclusion of the new players.

“Some call-ups are forced changes due to injuries,” he added.

The technical bench has had to navigate several absences. Manousakis listed Adam Wilson, Job Ochieng’, Manzur Okwaro, Timothy Ouma, and Vincent Harper as players who will miss the friendly matches due to “niggles” and “congestion of domestic league fixtures”.

“We also gave time off to Collins Sichenje and Captain Michael Olunga,” Manousakis added, then stated that there would be no more call-ups to the squad.

Despite the changes, the mood in the camp remains high. Aldrine Kibet said he was “excited beyond belief” to earn his first call-up.

“I did not expect it to come this soon. It came two years early,” he said.

“The coach encouraged me to learn Spanish so I could communicate with my coaches and teammates. He said that learning the language would help me integrate into the team and make playing easier,” Kibet said.

The team is now set to converge in Turkey, with St. Mirren forward Jonah Ayunga already waiting and VPS winger William Lenkupae joining soon from Finland.

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