For Coach Benni McCarthy, who took over in March, the 2-1 win against Chad ended a three-game wait for his first win after two draws and a defeat in his opening matches. More importantly, the team showed improved cohesion, intent, and tactical discipline across the two fixtures.

Head coach McCarthy praised the team’s progress and looked ahead with optimism.

“For the boys that are going to play in CHAN, I hope this experience has shown them the level I expect and the level we can reach when we play our best football,” he said.

“So there’s a lot of positive things we can look forward to with CHAN coming up and I’m excited. With the time we’ll have to prepare, I believe this team will be ready to go and hopefully we can bless the country with more victories.”

There’s still work to be done, but with signs of chemistry building the Harambee Stars look to be on a steady progress, under a new coach — Kenya’s roadmap to CHAN 2024 is beginning to take shape.