Harambee Stars drop four places to 113th in FIFA rankings after tough Turkey outing
The back-to-back losses in Turkey left Kenya with no points gained during the November FIFA window, resulting in the slip from 111th to 113th globally.
Harambee Stars have slipped four places in the latest FIFA World Rankings, falling from position 109 to 113, following a difficult international break in Turkey, where they suffered consecutive defeats to Equatorial Guinea and Senegal.
Kenya’s outing began with a spirited but ultimately unsuccessful performance in a 1–0 defeat to Equatorial Guinea at the Emirgan Sport Centre.
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A first-half penalty from Jose Miranda, awarded after Rooney Onyango fouled the striker inside the box, separated the two sides. Despite the setback, Harambee Stars created several promising chances. Early attempts by Sylvester Owino, Ryan Ogam, and Jonah Ayunga tested the Equatorial Guinea defence, but the finishing touch remained elusive.
After the break, Kenya pushed harder, with Austin Odhiambo and Ovella Ochieng injecting fresh energy. Odhiambo came closest to equalising, dragging a shot wide after a clever set-up by Onyango. At the other end, goalkeeper Marvin Omondi kept Kenya in the game with sharp saves, including a late effort to deny Luis Miguel Asue.
If the first match showed improvement, the second brought harsh reality. Kenya was overpowered 8–0 by Senegal, the 2026 World Cup-bound African giants, in what became one of Harambee Stars’ heaviest defeats in recent history.
Senegal’s aggressive high press punished Kenya early, with Nicolas Jackson scoring inside nine minutes. Defensive lapses saw Malick Diouf add a second, before Jackson completed a quick brace to make it 3–0.
From there, Sadio Mané took command, scoring a devastating first-half hat-trick, including a penalty to raise his tally to 48 international goals. Senegal led 6–0 at halftime, added a seventh through Ibrahim Mbaye, and sealed the rout late on via a second penalty converted by Chérif Ndiaye.
Harambee Stars showed brief flashes, most notably through Alpha Onyango’s long-range attempt and a late chance for Ovella Ochieng, but could not threaten Senegal’s dominance. The match also saw assistant coach Vasili Manousakis sent off for dissent.
The back-to-back losses in Turkey left Kenya with no points gained during the November FIFA window, resulting in the slip from 111th to 113th globally. The ranking decline reflects both the recent results and Kenya’s struggle to earn consistent positive outcomes in international fixtures.
Senegal also slipped a place down after being beaten 2-0 by Brazil on their first outing.
Kenya’s East African neighbours, Tanzania and Uganda, despite being above Harambee Stars in the FIFA rankings, also dropped positions during the latest international window.
Tanzania, ranked just above Kenya at 112, played only one friendly match, losing 4–3 to Kuwait.
Uganda remain the highest-ranked among the three East African nations, sitting at 85th after dropping two places. During the November window, they lost 4–0 to Morocco before edging Chad 2–1. Uganda were previously ranked 83rd.
Morocco continues to lead the continent, now placed 11th in the world. The Atlas Lions won both of their November fixtures 4–0 against Tanzania and 1–0 against Mozambique, results that helped them climb from 12th to 11th in the global standings.
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