“I could not understand why he had not been part of the Kenyan national team,” these were head coach Benni McCarthy’s remarks when he was asked about Mohammed Bajaber’s performance in his full Harambee Stars debut. Bajaber stole the show as Stars came from down thrice to hold The Gambia to a 3-3 draw in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier match, played on Thursday night at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Ivory Coast. The Kenya Police FC attacker scored a wonder goal and was a thorn in the flesh of The Gambian defence, soon after McCarthy unleashed him in the second half. The solid display the youngster had in the game did not escape the attention of Kenyans, who have been hailing his bravery, and how hard he worked to ensure the team staged the dramatic comeback. ##NAJAVA_MECA_8798974##While praises continue to pour in for Bajaber, McCarthy wondered why his predecessor Engin Firat had not spotted his talent and rewarded him with a call-up, at the very least. Before the South African legend took over, as Stars coach, the then interim coach Francis Kimanzi had handed Bajaber his first call-up ahead of the January Mapinduzi Cup in Tanzania. Bajaber reveals how individual training bore wonder goal in Harambee Stars debut”I am glad I gave him the opportunity. He shows Kenya and the coaches, who were here before, what they missed out and what they could have had. I am happy for him. Hopefully, he will get better and better. He loves to work, improve and learn. I like that about players because they end up helping themselves become better,” remarked McCarthy. The former forwards’ coach at Manchester United revealed that it did not take him long to realize how massively talented Bajaber was during his first days at the Stars camp. Six lessons learned from Harambee Stars draw against GambiaHe said the former Nairobi City Stars man was a risk taker, who was destined for greater heights in his career having demonstrated hunger for success. “I met him when we had the minicamp, with the local players, and he impressed me much. I like players, who are brave and not afraid to make mistakes. You can see what he is trying to do and if he gets it right, then it will be amazing. These are the kind of players, you want in your team because you know they will not fail. He will get it right and I love players, who are like that,” he added.
