Harambee Stars head coach Engin Firat has identified a key issue affecting the team following their failure to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals. Kenya’s hopes of making it to the finals ended with a 1-1 draw against Zimbabwe in Polokwane, South Africa, on Friday, November 15, 2024.
Firat believes the team’s primary problem lies in their inability to score goals. He expressed regret that he was unable to address this issue earlier in the campaign.
“The game played out as we expected,” Firat explained. “Zimbabwe, as we anticipated, played defensively and relied on long balls to their fast players on counterattacks. I think both sides fought hard, but for us, it’s a red flag that we fail to capitalize on our goal-scoring chances. We also face injuries, as seen with Joseph Okumu.”
Firat emphasized that goal-scoring remains a significant challenge for Kenya and that this issue must be resolved if the team is to progress to a higher level. “It’s clear we have a goal-scoring problem that needs a solution. I wish we could have addressed this earlier, but we couldn’t change it,” he said.
Despite the disappointment of missing out on AFCON qualification, Firat praised his players for their efforts throughout the campaign. “There’s nothing more I can say to the boys. They gave everything until the last second. They deserved more. In the end, this is football, and you can’t change everything,” Firat stated.
The coach acknowledged the frustration among fans back home but reiterated that the players had done their best. “I understand the frustration, but as I said, there’s nothing more to say about the players who gave their all,” he added.
Firat also shared his frustration with the state of Kenyan football, “Maybe we need to realize what we have and stop dreaming. I’ve pointed out the problems with our football several times, and it’s only getting worse. We need to face reality and stop focusing on what we want and instead ask ourselves what we have,” he said.
“External factors can always change, but our record in this tournament speaks for itself.”
Cameroon and Zimbabwe secured their places in the AFCON finals, while Kenya and Namibia, whom they will face next, missed out from Group J.
