Kenya U20 assistant coach Anthony Akhulia has listed four lessons picked from their participation in the 2025 CAF U20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).Follow our WhatsApp channel for more news The Rising Stars featured in the ongoing U20 AFCON that began on Sunday, 27 April in Egypt, but were eliminated at the group stage hurdle.Nigeria head coach weighs in on Rising Stars’ U20 AFCON performanceKenya’s participation was cut short after losing their opening two matches against Morocco and Tunisia, respectively, before picking up a point in a 2-2 draw with Nigeria in their last match that saw them finish bottom of Group B.Akhulia, who doubles up as the Bidco United head coach, opened up on the lessons learnt, with the first being the level of football.##NAJAVA_MECA_8917036##“As much as we had been in camp for about two months preparing, we came here and realised that it is a very different level of football,” said Akhulia.The Bidco United tactician also disclosed that the intrigues of Video Assistant Referee(VAR), especially in identifying errors, are a key lesson.Okere on what Tusker need to resuscitate title hopes“There was also the aspect of VAR. We were making mistakes thinking they were not mistakes, but upon review, they were mistakes, and we got punished. We learnt as coaches and players that there are things that we take for granted but are costly at the high level,” he added.##NAJAVA_MECA_8917058##According to the former Bidco midfielder, the inability of his team to protect a lead was a matter of their mental strength, which would need improvement going forward.“I also think that we really need to improve mentally. For most of our players, they cannot handle a solitary goal lead. Why FKF has postponed Sunday’s Mashemeji DerbyUnder pressure, we succumbed, and so we really need to have a strong mentality in terms of how we play and manage ourselves.”Further, the 40-year-old tactician also noted the need to manage the game better, attributing the lack of the same to the two losses.##NAJAVA_MECA_8917067##“We also need to know how to manage the game. There are moments where you are leading, what do you need to do? If you look at Tunisia and Morocco, that is what they did to beat us.”
