Vasili Manousakis believes Kenya achieved their objective with emphatic win over Lesotho

In the second friendly match held at Lucas Moripe Stadium in South Africa on Sunday, Harambee Stars required a brace each from midfielder Mohammed Bajaber and second-half substitute Lawrence Ouma to secure the victory.

The result marked an improvement on their previous encounter at the same venue, where Kenya squandered a 1-0 half-time lead to draw 1-1 against Likuena.

Kenya coach Benni McCarthy used the friendlies to assess new players, and one of them, Ouma, finished the two matches with three goals, having netted the only goal against Lesotho in the first meeting.

Speaking on behalf of McCarthy after the June FIFA friendly, Manousakis commended Kenya for passing a significant test against a much-altered Lesotho side that played a physical, energetic game.

Kenya achieved what ‘we wanted’

“The first notable difference was that we were more disciplined, and tactically we demanded a clinical performance in the final third. You know, we created chances in the previous game but were very wasteful and wayward,” Manousakis told Flashscore.

“In this match, it started with being a little more clinical with the chances we created, but even before that, we got the rotation right, we got the positioning slightly right, though not quite the intensity we wanted to reach.

“But I think the guys came close today (Sunday) in delivering the performance, and we have to put it into context because so many of them were playing together for the very first time, and that was the aim.

“You know, playing against a very restructured Lesotho, physical and full of energy, they gave us a lot of tests, and I think we achieved what we wanted. Now we go back and start thinking about how to prepare for September’s qualifiers.”

Manousakis added: “It was the kind of game we wanted to win, but also to have a look at this new crop of players, so many making their debuts for the first time, a lot of young lads out there.

“We wanted to give them the experience of international football, of being together in the national team, of camping together, travelling some of them long distances, and it was always good to finish with a victory.”

He concluded: “The picture has now started to become clearer as we all come together, and it gives the coach something to think about ahead of September’s matches.”

Kenya to face South Africa

Harambee Stars have been placed in Group D of the PAMOJA 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers alongside South Africa, Guinea and Eritrea.

‎The draw sets up a competitive group as nations across the continent begin their qualification campaigns for the continental showpiece, which will be jointly hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

Kenya, as one of the co-host nations of the tournament, have already secured automatic qualification for the 2027 edition.‎ However, Harambee Stars will still take part in the qualification campaign alongside the other nations in Group D.

‎A total of 48 nations will compete in the qualifiers, with 24 teams set to feature in the final tournament.

The competition will run from June 19th to July 17th, 2027, marking the return of Africa’s biggest football tournament to the East African region.

The 2027 edition will be the first to be hosted by three countries, and the first in five decades to be organised in the CECAFA region, since it was hosted by Ethiopia in 1976.