WAFCON: Why Harambee Starlets’ dream is effectively over ahead of final group match against Algeria
By Luke Oluoch, July 31, 2026Thursday’s 1-0 defeat to Senegal has left Kenya’s hopes of progressing past the WAFCON 2026 group stages hanging by a thread.
Beldine Odemba’s side suffered a painful setback in Rabat despite a spirited display that saw them hit the woodwork multiple times.
Forward Terry Engesha and defender Euphrasier Shilwatso both saw efforts rattle off the frame of the goal, compounding a night of misfortune for the East Africans as Seynabou Mbengue’s 34th-minute strike proved decisive for Senegal.
Meanwhile, host nation Morocco took control of Group A later in the evening with a late 1-0 victory over North African rivals Algeria. Sanaâ Mssoudy’s strike with six minutes remaining sent the Atlas Lionesses top of the table on six points, securing their spot in the quarter-finals.
With back-to-back losses, Kenya’s path to the knockout rounds is now exceptionally difficult.
Because CAF competitions utilize head-to-head records as the primary tiebreaker over goal difference, Kenya cannot finish in the top two above Morocco (6 points) or Senegal (3 points), having lost to both.
Furthermore, the Starlets carry a daunting -5 goal difference into their final group match against Algeria on August 3, 2026.
The Desert Queens edged Senegal in their opening encounter before slumping to host Morocco 1-0 in their Match Day Two fixture on Thursday, July 30, 2026.
To stand any chance of advancing as one of the best third-placed teams, Kenya must secure a heavy victory over Algeria while hoping Morocco delivers a convincing win against Senegal. Even in that best-case scenario, Kenya’s tiebreaker deficit leaves their quarter-final ambitions on life support.
This comes as Odemba 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 stated.