Harambee Stars coach Bennie McCarthy has said his team faces the toughest test in Group ‘A’ of the 2024 African Nations Championship (Chan) when they come up against two-time champions Morocco on Sunday.
At the same time, coach McCarthy has asked his charges to stop playing like ‘rookies’’, urging them to seize the moment and take control of matches right from the first whistle.
The match against Morocco will be played at the 48,000-seater Moi International Sports Centre (MISC) Kasarani, and will be crucial in determining Kenya’s fate with regard to qualification for the quarter-finals stage of the 19-nation biennial tournament which started on August 2 and will run till August 30.
Harambee Stars forward Austin Odhiambo celebrates his goal against Angola during the 2024 African Nations Championship Group 'A' match at Moi Internationals Sports Centre, Kasarani in Nairobi on August 7, 2025.
Photo credit: Sila Kiplagat | Nation Media Group
Kenya are co-hosting the delayed tournament with Uganda and Tanzania. Only the top two teams from the four groups in the tournament will qualify for the quarter-finals.
After playing two matches, Harambee Stars top Group 'A' with four points followed by Morocco on three points from one match. Two-time Chan winners, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are third with three points from two matches. Angola are fourth with one point from two matches, while Zambia are bottom of the group with one point from one match.
Morocco present tough test for Kenya as they are the top ranked African side globally at position 12. Kenya sits a distant 111th.
While Harambee Stars are making their debut in Chan, Morocco are featuring in the tournament for the fifth time, with an eye on the third title. Morocco won the title in 2018, and in 2020.
They have proven to be ruthless on mistakes committed by opponents as despite Angola enjoying most of the possession, especially in the second-half, they still managed to score. They hold an advantage heading into tomorrow’s match as they have not had a mid-week fixture.
Although Moroccan striker Ayoub Mouloua didn’t score against Angola, he is among the players Stars must watch for, thanks to his sharp instincts. The 22-year-old Fath Union Rabat player was the top scorer in the Moroccan league with 11 goals in 26 league matches.
Morocco’s coach Tarik Sektioui has declared his intention to win the title with a 100 per cent win record.
Kenya defeated DRC 1-0 in their opening group match on Sunday, and drew 1-1 with Angola on Thursday despite being reduced to 10 men in the 21st minute, but McCarthy is unimpressed with the lack of composure by his players, particularly in the first-half.
Lack of composure by Kenyan players
Adding to his frustration is the fact that Harambee Stars have paid dearly for their nervous start in the two matches.
“These players can play but my God, they need to get over this fear factor in the first 45 minutes. It is stressful!” McCarthy said on Friday after his team’s match against Angola.
“Whoever is in the squad has to understand that he has made it. You are at the pinnacle of the elite football, you are the best that the country has, you cannot still be like a rookie, like someone who has never walked onto a football pitch before, someone who has never seen so many people in the stadium and that is what my team is doing at the moment and it is becoming costly,” the South African said.
Harambee Stars coach Benni McCarthy issues instructions from the touchline during Kenya's match against Angola in a Group 'A' fixture of the 2024 African Nations Championships at Moi Internationals Sports Centre, Kasarani in Nairobi on August 7, 2025.
Photo credit: Sila Kiplagat | Nation Media Group
Against DRC, Kenya looked nervous in the early stages of the first-half, with burly Jephte Bola firing DRC ahead in the fourth minute after dispossessing captain Abud Omar at the edge of the box.
After a VAR review, the goal was cancelled after it was confirmed that Bola had fouled Omar. However, Kenyans were left asking why the experienced defender held on to the ball for long, and attempted to beat Bola in a dangerous area instead of just passing the ball forward.
The southern African nation took the lead through Joaquim Jo Cristovao Paciencia in the seventh minute. Kenya’s goalkeeper Byrne Omondi took a share of blame after Marvine Nabwire was red-card as he gave the ball away while trying to clear a back pass, forcing the Kenya Police man to foul Alberto Miguel, denying him a goal scoring opportunity. The red card was confirmed by VAR.
But the match’s biggest mistake came from substitute Ben Stanley, who gave the ball away to the opposition who scored at the death, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside.
“Against DRC, we also started so sluggish and we could have been easily 1-0 or 2-0 down…you get over it and proceed to win the game and then in the second match, you do exactly the same mistakes and you get punished for it but you get away with it, so I don’t know when we are going to learn,” said McCarthy.
Ahead of the clash against Morocco, the former Manchester United’s forwards coach said the technical bench would “cut out all the mistakes.”
