Reform Harambee Stars - Daily Nation

The national football team, Harambee Stars, beat Tanzania 2-1 on Thursday to finish third in the 2019 Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup in Kampala.

Uganda Cranes thrashed Eritrea 3-0 to dethrone Kenya, who were the defending champions, having won the title in 2017. Kenyan football fans were heart-broken when the team slumped to a 4-1 loss to minnows Eritrea in the semi-finals, ending Kenya’s tournament title hopes. The team’s performance sparked rumpus across the country. Fans questioned the commitment of the players in the tournament, pointing out the team lacked the right mental attitude, preparedness and tactical discipline to win.

Kenya’s loss to Eritrea should serve as a wake-up call. That 111th-ranked Kenya, which competed in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, should lose to a team lying 205th in Fifa world rankings is worrying. Kenya went into the match on the back of a two-match suspension, which had been slapped on coach Francis Kimanzi for ‘improper conduct’ before a group match against Tanzania. Whereas Kimanzi returned to Kenya’s technical bench in the match against Eritrea, he sat out the team’s matches against Zanzibar and Sudan.

The poor performance does not augur well for Kenya, which was also bundled out of the qualifiers for the 2020 African Nations Championships (Chan) by Tanzania. Kenya is currently in the middle of the qualifying round of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations tournament. The team is second behind Comoros in Group ‘G’ of the qualifiers.  Kenya’s coaches must put the Cecafa debacle behind them and focus on the task ahead to create a good atmosphere to perform in its next matches.