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McCarthy gets first win as Kenya beat Chad in friendly
Harambee Stars midfielder Adam Wilson (right) tussles for the ball with Chad's Haroun Abakar (left) during their international friendly match played at Marrakech Stadium in Morocco on June 7, 2025.
What you need to know:
- McCarthy used the friendlies to give locally based players valuable minutes as part of preparations for the delayed 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN), set to run from August 2 to August 30.
- Despite a strong showing, Kenya allowed Chad to gain a foothold in the last quarter of the match, with the West Africans troubling the Stars through midfield dominance and long-ball tactics.
Harambee Stars head coach Benni McCarthy registered his first win in charge of the national team on Tuesday after Kenya edged out lowly ranked Chad 2-1 in an international friendly match at the Marrakech Stadium in Morocco.
The two sides had played to a goalless draw last Saturday in their first-ever meeting—an outcome that left the South African tactician unimpressed.
McCarthy had challenged his players to raise their game and not approach international duty as though they were playing in the Kenyan league.
Kenya responded with a dominant first-half performance, taking a 2-0 lead courtesy of goals from FC Talanta striker Emmanuel Osoro in the 18th minute and Bandari forward David Sakwa on the stroke of halftime.
Osoro opened the scoring by beating Chad defenders to slot home after receiving a low cross from the right flank.
He later turned provider, delivering a pinpoint ball that Sakwa connected with to score Kenya’s second goal.
However, Kenya’s lacklustre defending cost them in the second half when Chad pulled one back just after the hour mark. Defender Ali Mahamat Adam capitalised on a long ball from forward Youssouf Ahmat to reduce the deficit.
Osoro appears to have carried his goal-scoring form from the Football Kenya Federation Premier League to the national team. He now has 16 goals in the FKF-PL—just one behind top scorer Moses Shumah of Kakamega Homeboyz.
For Tuesday’s match, McCarthy made sweeping changes to the starting lineup, dropping several players including Shumah, Adam Wilson, Boniface Muchiri, Daniel Sakari, Aboud Omar, Brian Mandela, Brian Musa, Brian Bwire, and Alphonce Omija.
Only Alphonce Onyango and William Lekunpae retained their places from the starting 11 that featured on Saturday.
Since his appointment on March 3, the 48-year-old has now taken charge of four matches for Kenya, securing one win, two draws, and one loss.
His previous results include a 3-3 draw away to Gambia and a 2-1 home defeat to Gabon in Group F of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers.
Ranked 111th in the world, Kenya dominated large portions of Tuesday’s encounter against 177th-ranked Chad and could have scored more had they converted their numerous chances.
McCarthy used the friendlies to give locally based players valuable minutes as part of preparations for the delayed 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN), set to run from August 2 to August 30.
Despite a strong showing, Kenya allowed Chad to gain a foothold in the last quarter of the match, with the West Africans troubling the Stars through midfield dominance and long-ball tactics.
