Harambee Stars were not at their best in the barren draw against Zimbabwe in their opening 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier that was staged at the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Namboole, Uganda.Here are six lessons learned from the drab draw against The Warriors of Zimbabwe. 1. Firat running out of excusesThe Harambee Stars head coach has faced a myriad of challenges since taking over the team in October 2021 including navigating a FIFA suspension, injury to key players and lack of adequate financial support.The 54-year-old has always issued excuses for the poor performances of the team but after close to two years of being in charge of the team there has been little major improvement in terms of results having just won two competitive games against Seychelles and Rwanda.##NAJAVA_MECA_8318176##Speaking after the drab barren draw against Zimbabwe, Firat talked about how Uganda had better facilities which is currently true but noted that Kenya has a deficiency in international quality forwards but went ahead to start Benson Omala, Jonah Ayunga and John Avire on the bench. “What we saw today (Friday) is that we do not have many players in the offensive department, if we can solve this when the other players like Michael Olunga, Masud Juna and Ayub Timbe are coming back then everything will be fine.It is then that we can talk about track records and maybe one day talk about the real success of Kenyan football,” said Firat.2. Home support crucialIt is no longer a secret that the ultimate formula of qualifying for a major showpiece in Africa is winning all your home games due to logistical challenges in the continent and getting at least one result away from home.Engin Firat mocks Harambee Stars fans after poor attendance against ZimbabweDespite not enjoying home support after the game was staged in Uganda due to the lack of a CAF-approved stadium, Kenya failed to take their chances.This will further complicate the qualifying formula for Kenya as they now have to at least secure a draw or win away from home if they are to harbour serious dreams of qualifying for the 2025 AFCON.Interestingly fellow group mates Namibia and Zimbabwe also find themselves in a similar situation of having to play their home matches beyond borders.This means that most of our games will be on neutral grounds hence the need to start adapting to playing in such venues. 3. Lack of clear philosophyThe eye sore against Zimbabwe showed a lack of clear philosophy from Harambee Stars who did very little to show a clear desire to win the game. ##NAJAVA_MECA_8318187##Watching the match live, the commentator went for long periods without offering any commentary due to the quick turnover in possession and lack of pattern.Kenya could only muster three attempts in the game with only one of them being on target and committed 13 fouls in the game compared to Zimbabwe’s five, showing how much on the backfoot they were.If we struggle to beat Zimbabwe who just like Kenya have never made it past the AFCON group stages then it will be hard to compete against top sides in Africa. 4. Selection issuesFirat opted to start a midfielder in the shape of Eric Johana upfront in the absence of skipper Michael Olunga despite having Benson Omala, John Avire and Jonah Ayunga on the bench.The last time Johana scored for Harambee Stars was six years ago in the 3-0 win over Ethiopia showing his lack of goals in national team colours.Is there genuine Harambee Stars progress under Engin Firat?Since coming back to the team, Avire scored against Malawi and looked lively when he was introduced in place of Johana who surprisingly lasted 68 minutes in the game.Omala was widely expected to start but had he not been overlooked in the previous call ups he would have already gained enough international experience to be trusted with a start.Ayunga is an interesting case who has been called in recent squads but is yet to get more than five minutes under his belt which begs the question of why he should be called up all the way from Scotland only to warm the bench.5. AFCON already looks like a long shotWe still have five more games before the 2025 AFCON qualifiers draw its curtains but judging from the opening game, qualifying for the showpiece will require a lot of effort.##NAJAVA_MECA_8318202##With 54 countries in the continent and 24 teams qualifying almost half of the nations book a ticket to the tournament and it is baffling that Kenya has only qualified for two tournaments in the past two decades.In the same period, Zimbabwe have qualified five times but are still below us in the FIFA rankings and even on paper despite Kenya missing key players our squad was still better than that of The Warriors.With all due respect to Zimbabwe, it is hard to see any more players who would dislodge our players in the starting lineup apart from Marshall Munetsi, Khama Billiat, and Tawanda Chirewa.Zimbabwe are also coming from a FIFA suspension with their first match after the embargo being back in March 2024 after more than a year of the ban from the world football governing body. Why Engin Firat failed to start a striker in Harambee Stars’ AFCON qualifier against Zimbabwe6. Sylvester Owino comes of ageSylvester Owino was one of the silver linings in an otherwise dark Harambee Stars cloud in the Zimbabwe encounter that marked his debut in national team colours.The Gor Mahia defender was an able partner for Joseph Okumu continuing the long list of sturdy defenders the country has produced over the years.He has had to wait for his moment however as he did not automatically command a starting role after his transfer from Kakamega Homeboyz to Gor Mahia.Having recently cemented a place at Gor Mahia, Owino’s star is finally on the rise and should he continue in this trajectory he will surely be on his way out of the Kenyan league.
