- Harambee Stars head coach is still hopeful that Kenya has a chance to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
- Kenya is sitting in fourth place in Group F with six points, nine behind Gabon, who are leading.
- The final four matches for the Harambee Stars are against Gambia, Seychelles in September and Burundi, Ivory Coast in October.
Kenya’s hopes of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America suffered a blow when they lost 1-2 to Gabon at the Nyayo National Stadium on Sunday evening.
However, Harambee Stars head coach Benni McCarthy remains hopeful that they could still qualify mathematically with victories in their remaining four matches.
After two dramatic rounds in the World Cup qualifiers where they drew 3-3 with Gambia on Matchday 5 and lost to Gabon on Matchday 6 in Group F, Kenya currently sits in fourth place with six points, nine points behind group leaders Gabon (15).
To revive their qualification prospects, Kenya must secure victories in their remaining group matches and hope results in the other matches go in their favour.
They will face Gambia and Seychelles in September, followed by encounters with Burundi and Ivory Coast in October.
McCarthy, who was overseeing his second match since taking charge, emphasized that despite the setback, there remains a faint glimmer of hope.
He noted that winning the remaining matches is crucial for Kenya to stay in contention for World Cup qualification.
“The result was a big blow as it was crucial for us to keep our hopes alive. These are not the results we wanted, nor are they what the players played for. Unfortunately, our path to qualification has become more difficult, but as I said, there are still four games to play.
We will continue to fight and, who knows, maybe mathematically there’s still a glimmer of hope. If we win our remaining matches, we could still find ourselves in a position to qualify, maybe even when we play against Ivory Coast,” the former AmaZulu head coach explained after the game.
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Harambee Stars results and fixtures for FIFA World Cup 26
Gabon 2-1 Kenya (16 Nov 2023 – Matchday 1)
Seychelles 0-5 Kenya (20 Nov 2023 – Matchday 2)
Kenya 1-1 Burundi (7 June 2024 – Matchday 3)
Kenya 0-0 Ivory Coast (11 June 2024 – Matchday 4)
Gambia 3-3 Kenya (20 Mar 2025 – Matchday 5)
Kenya 1-2 Gabon (23 Mar 2025 – Matchday 6)
Kenya vs The Gambia (3 Sep 2025 – Matchday 7)
Kenya vs Seychelles (6 Sep 2025 – Matchday 8)
Burundi vs Kenya (8 Oct 2025 – Matchday 9)
Ivory Coast vs Kenya (11 Oct 2025 – Matchday 10)
Harambee Stars to start preparing for CHAN and AFCON
McCarthy also expressed his commitment to preparing the team for the upcoming African Nation Championship (CHAN 2024) and the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations which Kenya will co-host with Uganda and Tanzania.
“I believe it’s time to focus on preparing for the upcoming CHAN and the 2027 AFCON here in Kenya. I’m pleased with what I see so far and I know that the people expect us to win. It’s important to understand that when building a new team, you need to bring in young players, and you can’t just discard the veterans.
You have to work with them and see how much you can improve them. If that doesn’t work, you integrate younger players to take charge of the future. It’s a process we will work through, but we still have hope for the World Cup,” McCarthy, the former Manchester United assistant manager, reiterated.
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