WAFCON 2026: Coach Beldine Odemba Explains Why Harambee Starlets Lost 1-0 to Senegal

Harambee Starlets head coach Beldine Odemba has blamed wasteful finishing and costly defensive mistakes for Kenya's narrow 1-0 defeat to Senegal in their Group A clash at the 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) on Thursday at the Olympic Stadium in Rabat.

Kenya produced a much-improved performance compared to their opening fixture against hosts Morocco. Still, it once again paid the price for failing to convert numerous scoring opportunities, leaving their campaign hanging by a thread.

The decisive moment came in the 34th minute when FC Metz striker Seynabou Mbengue capitalised on a lapse in Kenya's defence to score what proved to be the only goal of the match.

The West Africans held on to secure all three points despite sustained pressure from the Starlets, who created several clear-cut opportunities but lacked the finishing touch in front of goal.

The result leaves Kenya rooted at the bottom of Group A after suffering consecutive defeats. Having opened their campaign with a heavy 4-0 loss to hosts Morocco, the latest setback significantly dents their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages.

Reflecting on the defeat, Odemba admitted that her players had enough opportunities to get a positive result but were let down by poor finishing and a costly defensive error.

"We would have done better if we had defended well and converted the chances we created. The goal they scored came from our mistake. Against Morocco, we also created chances but couldn't score, and today we had even better opportunities," she said.

Despite the disappointing result, the tactician insisted the Starlets are not ready to give up on their dream of reaching the quarter-finals.

Beldine Odemba believes there are positives to take from Kenya's improved display against Senegal and says the team will now shift its focus to the decisive final group match against Algeria.

"We are still in the competition, so we have to keep believing. We hope to get our first win against Algeria. From these two matches, we have identified areas we need to improve, especially in defence and converting our chances,” she said.

“I am disappointed we couldn't score today, but mentally the players responded well. There was a big improvement from the first match. It is still a work in progress."

The coach praised her players for showing greater resilience and tactical discipline than they did in the opening defeat to Morocco, although she acknowledged that more improvement is needed at both ends of the pitch.

Defender Vivian Nasaka shared her coach's disappointment, saying Kenya deserved more from the contest after creating the better chances.

She, however, maintained that the team remains fully focused on securing victory against Algeria in their final Group A fixture.

"We still have another chance against Algeria, and we will fight again. Our finishing let us down today. We created several clear one-on-one chances but failed to convert them. Tactically, we had the upper hand and created more chances than Senegal, but they took theirs while we didn't," she said.