Harambee Stars head coach Engin Firat believes the large crowds at Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo contributed to his team’s defeat on Friday night. The Stars suffered a 4-1 loss to Cameroon in the third round of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.Kenya, seeking their first major win against Marc Brys’ side, fell behind early when captain Vincent Aboubakar converted a penalty in the seventh minute. Martin Hongla, Christian Bassogog, and Bryan Mbeumo added to the scoreline for the five-time African champions, while Michael Olunga netted a consolation goal for the Stars.##NAJAVA_MECA_8405606##In the post-match press conference, Firat, formerly Moldova’s national team coach, praised Cameroon’s intensity in the first half, during which they scored three goals. However, he noted that his players struggled with the intimidating atmosphere created by the large crowd. Kenya has been playing its home matches abroad for over a year, limiting their experience with home crowd support. “Perhaps the fans played a role. We’re not used to playing in front of such large crowds,” Firat commented. Bassogog’s masterclass leaves big dent on Harambee Stars’ dream for AFCON 2025Before the game, Cameroon Football Federation (Fecafoot) president Samuel Eto’o had distributed 500 free tickets to local students, ensuring strong support for the Indomitable Lions.Firat acknowledged that his team allowed Cameroon to dominate possession in the first half and hinted at changes for the return leg on Monday. “We’ll see what happens in the next match. I remain hopeful, but not with the way we played today. Cameroon was much more aggressive, both physically and tactically,” he added.PLAYER RATINGS: Cameroon v Kenya – Harambee Stars’ fail to impress against Africa’s giantAddressing his pre-match confidence in securing points, Firat defended his stance: “In football, if you don’t believe in yourself as a team, then why play? But I must admit, we didn’t perform as we have in the past three years.”When asked about the possibility of starting goalkeeper Patrick Matasi in the return leg, after his errors contributed to two of Cameroon’s goals, Firat simply replied, “We’ll see.”
