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Here are some of the things we learnt from Harambee Stars' historic away win over Namibia in South Africa.
John Avire delivered a man-of-the-match performance, opening the scoring as Harambee Stars secured a vital 2-1 win over Namibia in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier at Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The victory sees Kenya move to joint-top of Group J, tied on four points with Cameroon after the Indomitable Lions were held to a 0-0 draw by Zimbabwe in Kampala, Uganda.
For under-fire coach Engin Firat, this result was exactly what he needed after a lackluster 0-0 draw against Zimbabwe in their opening group match. Here are five takeaways from Kenya's impressive victory over Namibia.
Kenya is best as a counter-attacking side
The win over Namibia proved that Kenya are best as a side that plays on the transition or hitting the opponents on the counter attack.
Before the match, Firat had stated that he would deploy counter-attacking tactics, and it worked particularly well in the second half.
Kenya’s second goal was created from a quick counter-attacking movement, when they turned a defensive header into a moment of attack.
Joseph Okumu headed the ball away towards Erick ‘Marcelo’ Ouma, who then ran with the ball down the left flank, with Duke Abuya the eventual goal scorer making a brilliant off-the-ball run towards the middle of the park before finding the back of the net.
This is in stark contrast to their 0-0 draw against Zimbabwe where they had a lot of possession but lacked penetration, While they do need solutions against teams that sit deep, they certainly showed they are a compact side off the ball with great pace on the break, like they showed against Ivory Coast as well during the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
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21:15 - 10.09.2024
Harambee Stars player ratings: How they performed in spirited win against Namibia
Harambee Stars players did well against Namibia, beating them 2-1 in their second AFCON 2025 qualifying match on Tuesday.
John Avire’s hold-up play is a joy to behold
Engin Firat was sweating over finding a solution to plug the hole left upfront in the absence of Michael Olunga, who was ruled out for the September games due to an injury she sustained for her club Al Duhail back in August.
Against Zimbabwe, he opted to play using two false number nines in Eric Johana and Abuya, and it just never worked, before subbing on John Avire who did considerably well by holding up the ball, running in behind and being generally aggressive.
The Egypt-based man proved his worth when handed his first start in national colors. He applied these very skills against Namibia, and it actually created several opportunities for runners like Erick Marcelo to make darting runs in behind, as well as Duke Abuya, who also made intelligent runs in behind. He also complimented his strike partner Jonah Ayunga.
When he was moved to the left flank, he also stretched the play well.
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21:00 - 10.09.2024
AFCON 2025 Qualifiers: Harambee Stars tame Namibia's Brave Warriors to take top spot in Group J
Harambee Stars excelled in a tightly contested AFCON qualifier showcasing strategic changes and robust defense against Namibia's Brave Warriors.
Richard Odada restores his groove
Richard Odada looked back at his best for the first time in a while, having struggled to assert his influence, especially moving forward in recent weeks.
Odada dominated the game throughout the match and gave some killer passes that gave Namibia problems, and when the right moment came up, he would even make late runs into the box, and was very determined and aggressive off the ball. If he can get more minutes at club level for Dundee United, we expect him to get even better, as he has shown that he really is a rhythm player.
Joseph Okumu rises to task as captain
Handed the captain’s armband on the night, Joseph Okumu stepped up to the task with his leadership skills and excellent reading of the game. He made one timely interception in the first half to deny Peter Shalulile a chance when through on goal, with the game end-to-end at that point.
He also guided Sylvester Owino well, with the Gor Mahia man taking up the task of being the aggressive man-marker to allow Okumu to be the one to sweep in behind. The Rennes man did a good job reading the game, and will be proud of his performance in the end.
Kenya’s physically imposing nature can be a problem
Barring Amos Nondi, Erick Marcelo Ouma, Duke Abuya and John Avire, the rest of the starting 11 consisted of players that were at least six feet tall.
This was a problem for Namibia to deal with, with most of their players very diminutive, and it allowed Harambee Stars to easily win their second balls and then use the turnover to hit their opponents on the break.
This is a very encouraging sign for them, and if they can continue to use their height advantage to good use, then a ticket to Morocco for the Africa Cup of Nations is a given.
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