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Five things we learnt from Kenya's narrow 1-0 loss to Cameroon in Uganda on Monday afternoon.
In a tightly contested encounter, the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon edged out Harambee Stars by a solitary goal in their second leg Group J match of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.
The clash, held at the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Namboole, Uganda, saw Cameroon secure their place in next year’s tournament in Morocco thanks to substitute Boris Enow Takang’s decisive strike.
Despite the defeat, Kenya’s performance offered several insights worth noting. Here are the five key takeaways:
1. John Avire’s aggression allowed Kenya to play with more positivity
During the match, Kenya played with a much more positive and aggressive approach compared to the Friday tie. They were relentless in winning all their ground duels, and pinned Cameroon back.
They were forcing good turnovers, and one of those led to a good chance in the 23rd minute, but Michael Olunga missed a glorious opportunity to put them into the lead when he tried to shift the ball onto his stronger left foot to try an attempt, but it allowed Cameroon back into shape, and in the end, that chance went begging.
However, Avire proved he is the presser-in-chief, and his pace also stretched their defence, just like he did during their 2-1 win over Namibia.
He surely has to keep his place in the starting line up in November.
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2. Byrne Omondi should be Kenya’s starting goalkeeper
Byrne Omondi was brought back into the starting line up following Patrick Matasi’s disastrous display in the first leg and showed why he should never have been dropped in the first place.
Omondi’s distribution was a joy to watch, as was his calm and collected display, and he did organise his defence well. He should of course, have done better with that freekick he conceded, but his pros outweigh his cons, and he should be allowed to develop an understanding with Joseph Okumu and Johnstone Omurwa.
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3. Is that Kenya’s strongest starting XI?
Engin Firat decided to start his strongest possible lineup for the return leg in efforts to try and get a result, and it is no coincidence that they actually played much better.
Joseph Okumu and Johnstone Omurwa are arguably the country’s best center backs, while Daniel Anyembe and Erick Marcelo Ouma are the go-to full backs.
Teddy Akumu and Richard Odada have played together as deep-lying midfielders for a long time now, and Ronney Onyango stretches the right wing well.
Michael Olunga kept his place upfront, while Duke Abuya and John Avire also came into the lineup.
Even though they lost, the performance is something they will have been proud of.
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4. Michael Olunga’s profligacy
Michael Olunga’s profligacy in games that matter is starting to become worrying. For a forward as potent as he is, some of the chances that he missed against Cameroon were frustrating.
He missed three big chances. The first being the one in the 23rd minute (as explained above) and the other two in the second half, when he failed to capitalise on a rebound from a shot that hit the upright, and the other from a through pass he received from Timothy Ouma.
These chances came to bite Kenya in the back, as Boris Enow’s freekick in the 63rd minute gave the Indomitable Lions all the three points in the end.
If Kenya are to still stand a chance of sealing qualification (it is still mathematically impossible), Olunga will have to do better in front of goal against Namibia and Zimbabwe in November.
5. Can Kenya still qualify?
Before the match on Friday, Kenya were top of the group on four points alongside Cameroon. Now, they sit four points behind Zimbabwe in third place.
Zimbabwe themselves beat Namibia in back-to-back games to give them a crucial six points, but it is still not over. Kenya need to win both matches against Zimbabwe and Namibia and hope that the Warriors get frustrated by Cameroon away in Yaounde to seal qualification.
Firat has insisted that he wants the team to be judged on matchday six, and under the circumstances, there is still every possibility of Kenya qualifying for the tournament.
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