- The Kenya vs Gambia 2026 World Cup Qualifiers Group F clash will take place on Friday, September 5.
- The match will be held at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, kicking off at 4:00 PM EAT.
- Despite the Harambee Stars’ World Cup dream fading, captain Michael Olunga pledges the team will fight for pride and ranking.
Harambee Stars captain Michael Olunga has made it clear that the team will not back down in their remaining Group F matches of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, even though their chances of making it through are very slim.
Kenya has four matches remaining in the group qualifiers, and as it stands, their hopes for advancement hang by the slimmest thread.
They currently sit in fourth place with six points, while Gabon, who managed to edge Seychelles 4-0, now lead the table with 18 points- the maximum Kenya can amass.
That means the only possible route for Harambee Stars to qualify is by hoping second-placed Ivory Coast drops points in their final matches, starting with Burundi on Friday, September 5.
Kenya would then aim for second place, hoping to be among the four best runners-up who will go into the play-offs to decide who represents CAF in the inter-confederation play-offs.
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Speaking at a press conference on Thursday at Kasarani Stadium, ahead of their match against Gambia on Friday (4:00 PM EAT), Olunga said that even though qualification seems out of reach, they are still determined to give it their all because it’s a big responsibility to represent the country.
“When you look at yesterday’s result, where Gabon got maximum points against Seychelles, the most we can now get is 18 points,” Olunga said.
“But in football, you never say never. We will fight with everything we have got. First of all, it’s a huge honor to represent Kenya, so we are going to push all the way to the final group game and hope we reach the 18 points. Then we will see what happens.”
Why Olunga says the Kenya vs Gambia match still matters
The Al-Arabi striker also explained why they are still taking every match seriously and one of the main reasons being to boost their FIFA ranking, which will help in future draws and seedings.
Apart from that, we have to build a strong team for upcoming assignments as well. Another objective is to win for our FIFA Rankings. We have to compete fiercely to secure positive results so that when it comes to pooling and classifications for the next editions, we can be in a much stronger position,” he said.
Harambee Stars going all out for maximum points against Gambia
Kenya is currently ranked 109th in the FIFA Rankings as of the July 10 update, and Olunga stated they will be going all out for maximum points in Friday’s encounter.
So we want the maximum points tomorrow against Gambia. As you saw in the first leg match against them, they are a compact and difficult team to break down, but we believe we have assembled an excellent squad capable of securing maximum points, and that is our objective.”
Previous World Cup Qualifier results for Harambee Stars
- Gabon 2-1 Kenya
- Seychelles 0-5 Kenya
- Kenya 1-1 Burundi
- Kenya 0-0 Ivory Coast
- The Gambia 3-3 Kenya
- Kenya 1-2 Gabon