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Odemba rues missed chances, clings to hope as Senegal inflict Kenya’s second WAFCON defeat
31st July, 2026 09:41 AM
Harambee Starlets head coach Beldine Odemba has attributed Kenya’s 1-0 defeat to Senegal to a lack of clinical display in front of the goal.
Kenya’s bid to make amends in their second Group A match at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) hit a stumbling block Thursday at the Olympic Stadium in Rabat after Senegal edged the East Africans 1-0.
FC Metz’s striker Seynabou Mbengue capitalised on Kenya’s defensive lapse to net the lone goal for the West African nation in the 34th minute.
The disappointing outcome leaves Kenya rooted at the bottom of Group A after back-to-back losses, significantly denting their hopes of reaching the knockout stage, with Odemba admitting that her charges created and had their fair share of scoring opportunities.
“We would have done better if we had defended well and converted the chances we created. The goal they scored came from our mistake. Against Morocco, we also created chances but couldn’t score, and today we had even better opportunities,” she said.
Kenya had opened its account on a losing note, going down 4-0 against hosts Morocco in Rabat and now staring elimination after the second loss on the bounce.
Odemba, however, remained hopeful as the team angles for their final clash against Algeria in the group.
She noted that in the second game, her team showed tremendous improvement from their first, where they conceded four unanswered goals from hosts Morocco.
Improvement
“We are still in the competition, so we have to keep believing. We hope to get our first win against Algeria. From these two matches, we have identified areas we need to improve, especially in defence and converting our chances. I am disappointed we could not score today, but mentally the players responded well. There was a big improvement from the first match. It is still a work in progress,” she added.
In their second return to the Africa premier women’s competition. Harambee Starlets and the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) had set a target of a semifinal finish in only their second appearance at the continental stage after a ten-year wait.
Morocco took charge of Group A after outsmarting Algeria 1-0 in the other group clash. Sanaâ Mssoudy’s strike with six minutes left to play proved sufficient to send the hosts to the top of Group A with 6 points.
