Premium
Stars friendly against Senegal was a surprise, says assistant coach
Harambee Stars physiotherapist Musa Hamisi leads players in a work-out during their training session at the Nyayo Stadium, Nairobi, on November 11, 2025. The players were preparing for an international friendly match against Equitorial Guinea and Senegal to be played in Turkey.
Harambee Stars technical bench had no prior knowledge of a friendly match being organised between Kenya and Senegal, assistant coach Vasili Manousakis has said.
The Harambee Stars will play the Afcon 2021 winners in Antalya, Turkey, just four days after facing Equatorial Guinea in another friendly match in the same city. This will be the first time Kenya has played Senegal in a friendly match.
The Stars have played Senegal four times before, all of which were Afcon matches. Senegal defeated Kenya 3-0 in 1992, 2004, and 2019. The teams played to a 0-0 draw at Afcon in 1990.
The Harambee Stars have met Equatorial Guinea once before, winning the 2018 friendly match in Nairobi 1-0.
“Playing Senegal was a nice surprise for us. We don’t know how it happened or who agreed to the fixture. We were discussing playing Comoros or Madagascar, but I think things changed, and we ended up with Equatorial Guinea. Later, Senegal was added,” said the South African.
Manousakis, 52, spoke on Tuesday afternoon at Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi during the team’s final training session before departing for Turkey on Wednesday morning. He hailed Senegal as formidable rivals who will provide the Harambee Stars players with an opportunity to “test themselves against some of the best players in the world”.
Manousakis stood in for Harambee Stars coach Benni McCarthy at the training session. “McCarthy was renewing his passport, which has been sorted, and he will meet up with us in Turkey,” Manousakis said.
The two friendly matches will be Harambee Stars’ last action this year. Manousakis said the matches will be key in developing the national team.
“We have our work cut out for us against two strong teams. While they are focusing on Afcon, we are developing a new crop of players. We have local players who perform consistently week after week. We wish we could have picked more of them for these friendly matches because there are many more players in form,” Manousakis stated.
“Our goal is to win because that’s what it’s all about. Difficult matches like these will help the team grow.”
Harambee Stars players during a training session at Police Sacco Stadium in Nairobi on October 6, 2025.
The Stars’ squad for the matches features maiden call-ups for Aldrine Kibet of the Celta Vigo reserve team, Gor Mahia’s Bryton Onyona, and Nairobi United’s Kevin Otiende. Others, such as Baron Ochieng (Zamalek), Ovellah Ochieng (Nairobi United), and Sharif Musa (Gor Mahia), are returning after long absences.
“The objective is to give them a taste of international football and see how they respond. We also wanted to shake things up in the squad. The players have a good opportunity because there will be less pressure on them since they are playing friendly matches,” said Manousakis of the inclusion of the new players.
“Some call-ups are forced changes due to injuries,” he added.
Manousakis listed Adam Wilson, Job Ochieng’, Manzur Okwaro, Timothy Ouma, and Vincent Harper as players who will miss the friendly matches due to “niggles” and “congestion of domestic league fixtures”.
“We also gave time off to Collins Sichenje and Captain Michael Olunga,” Manousakis added, then stated that there would be no more call-ups to the squad.
He also confirmed that St. Mirren forward Jonah Ayunga is already in Turkey waiting for the team, and VPS winger William Lenkupae will join him soon from Finland.
Goalkeeper Byrne Omondi described playing against Equatorial Guinea and Senegal as a “good experience”.
“These matches will help us prepare for Afcon 2027,” said the Gor Mahia goalkeeper.
His club teammate, Sharif Musa, described his call-up as an “amazing feeling”.
“It’s great to have the opportunity to represent the national team,” he said. “This is my second time here. I have waited for this moment for so long, and I am happy that it has come.”
Aldrine Kibet said he was “excited beyond belief” to earn his first call-up.
“I did not expect it to come this soon. It came two years early,” he said, then shared the advice McCarthy gave him when he joined Celta Vigo’s reserve team, which plays in the Spanish Second Division. McCarthy is a former Celta Vigo player.
“The coach encouraged me to learn Spanish so I could communicate with my coaches and teammates. He said that learning the language would help me integrate into the team and make playing easier,” Kibet said.
