Kenya has continued to slip further in the latest FIFA World rankings, falling to 113 in just two months after what has been the toughest international break in recent times.
The latest slip comes at the back of two defeats on the spin for Harambee Stars, who succumbed to a 1-0 loss to Equatorial Guinea on November 14 before suffering a humiliating 8-0 loss to Senegal four days later.
Back-to-back losses in Turkey effectively meant Kenya did not gain any points during the FIFA window.
Interestingly, Senegal, which is among the best footballing nations in Africa, also slipped one place to 19th in the world. Their slip was largely attributed to a 2-0 defeat to Brazil during the international break.
Kenya has now dropped four places, one below their counterparts, Tanzania, who also slipped a massive five places to 109th.
FIFA ranks the men's national football teams based on a variety of criteria, such as the strength of opponents and the significance of games played during a given time frame.
Nations that defeat more formidable opponents or whose victories have greater repercussions overall tend to rank higher. With this in mind, a decent performance and result against Senegal would have likely seen Kenya record a better position in the rankings.
Uganda, which is the highest-ranked team in East Africa, also experienced a drop, going from position 83rd in September to 25th as of November 20.
The latest rankings highlighted a fundamental problem within the Harambee Stars, with pressure mounting on Benni McCarthy despite the South African tactician initially beginning his tenure on a high.
Since falling short in the last 16 at the African Nations Championships, Harambee Stars have experienced mixed results, winning two and losing four of their last six matches.
Defeats to Gambia and the Ivory Coast also effectively ended Harambee Stars' faint hopes of qualifying for the World Cup.
Fans have since noted that while Harambee Stars have shown glimpses of promise under McCarthy, the national team remains behind in terms of being competitive against national teams traditionally considered footballing giants.
On Wednesday, after the back of defeat to Senegal, FKF boss Hussein Mohammed apologised for what was one of the biggest losses Harambee Stars has endured in national team history as he vowed a string of amendment measures, including reviewing policies and operational procedures.
