Kenya’s Harambee Stars will be out to erase one of the most painful chapters in their history when they face Eritrea in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at Nyayo National Stadium on Saturday.
Kenya’s encounter with Eritrea in Afcon qualifiers carries a painful reminder of September 2, 2006.
Then, the Red Sea Camels stunned the vocal home crowd at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani in Nairobi with a 2-1 upset win of siesmici proportions in a 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.
The unfancied Eritreans followed this up with a 1-0 win in the return match held at Asmara nine months later.
But the Nairobi result remains one of the most painful defeats suffered by Harambee Stars on home soil and one that Kenya will be hoping to avenge nearly two decades later.
So traumatic was that defeat that it led to the exit of then coach, ex-France international Bernard Lama, a few weeks later.
Kenya’s number one goalkeeper then Arnold Origi, whose howler led to the second goal, was compelled to publicly apologise to Kenyans several days later.
Before that match-up, Kenya had never lost to Eritrea, considered a tiny football-playing nation in Africa.
The two sides have met eight times in international football dating back to December 8, 1994.
Their head-to-head has Kenya ahead on four wins, one draw and three losses.
All three losses Kenya has suffered against their Horn of Africa opponents have been in their last three successive meetings, two of which were 2008 Afcon qualifiers.
Kenya won their first meeting 1-0 on December 8, 1994, when it hosted the Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup. The second meeting was in the same tournament on July 28, 1999, in Rwanda, which Harambee Stars won by a similar scoreline before defeating Eritrea 2-1 again in the Senior Challenge Cup on December 10, 2001.
Harambee Stars beat Eritrea 1-0 in the quarter-finals of the 2001 Senior Challenge Cup, while another Cecafa encounter on December 2, 2003, ended in a 3-2 Kenyan victory in Sudan.
But Eritrea turned the tables when it mattered most, at the continental level, stunning the fancied, star-studded Harambee Stars home and away in the 2008 Afcon qualifiers.
On September 2, 2006, the Red Sea Camels claimed their first victory over Kenya, in Nairobi and in Asmara on June 16, 2007.
Eritrea again thumped Kenya 4-1 on December 19, 2019, in a Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup fixture in Uganda, in their last meeting to date.
More than 18,000 fans packed MISC as Kenya began their campaign for the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations finals in Ghana. Expectations were sky high, but everybody left the stadium low in spirit. Stars striker Dennis Oliech, then playing for French side Auxerre, missed a penalty in the 70th minute, while goalkeeper Origi scored an own goal after miscuing a back pass from Wycliffe Juma.
Eritrea retook the lead in the 67th minute when captain Musa Otieno failed to head away a loose ball, and Juma was slow in covering. Eritrea’s captain Yednekachew Shimangus reacted quickest.
Kenya’s lone goal was scored by Robert Mambo. It was a match they dominated but for the scoreline. The defeat left the home crowd shell-shocked, while the players were left wondering what had gone wrong.
Otieno captured the mood in the dressing room, challenging his teammates to look at themselves in the mirror and ask whether their performance merited a place in the national team.
Kenya fielded eight foreign-based professionals, but they failed to make the difference against an Eritrean side composed largely of home-based players.
Oliech endured a difficult evening, while Moses Odhiambo, making his first home appearance for Harambee Stars, also struggled to impose himself.
Harambee Stars midfielder John "Mo" Muiruri in top flight against Eritrea.
John “Mo” Muiruri and Titus Mulama worked hard to create opportunities, but the midfield partnership of Robert Mambo, Titus Mulama and Ali Breik failed to click.
Lama, a 1998 World Cup winner with France, may have wondered what he had done wrong.
“It was a bad day, and everyone left the stadium disappointed. Almost the entire team was playing in foreign leagues, and we were at our prime,” said Mulama on phone from Sweden.
Mambo, who is based in Sweden, said the defeat was a bitter pill to swallow because from 2000-2004 they had played together and were very solid.
“I think we were good, but it is also good to consider that it was also a time when the team was starting to enter a new chapter with younger players coming up, so the issue was transition. Everybody was angry after the defeat at MISC Kasarani,” Mambo told Nation Sport on phone from Sweden.
“All the Eritrean players were home-based, so it was hard to fathom the loss. They just did their assignment as well and won.”
Harambee Stars coach Benni McCarthy during the team's training at Utalii Sports Club on September 1, 2025.
Photo credit: Chris Omollo | Nation Media Group
“The current squad have no excuse. Benni McCarthy has experienced players at his disposal. Eritrea have also improved, but I think we are above them,” said Mambo.
