- Why Harambee Stars head coach Benni McCarthy remains worried despite third-place finish at the FIFA Series 2026
- McCarthy says the national team’s lack of clinical finishing in front of goal remains a major concern for Harambee Stars.
- Placed in Group A, the team finished third after European side Estonia denied them a spot in the final via a penalty shootout on Friday, March 27.
Harambee Stars head coach Benni McCarthy is a man still scratching his head, troubled by the national team’s lack of sharpness in front of goal despite their 3-0 win over Grenada on Monday evening at the Amahoro Stadium in Kigali, Rwanda.
Harambee Stars were among the sides taking part in the 2026 FIFA Series mini-tournament that was staged in Rwanda March 23-31.
Placed in Group A, they wound up in third place after being denied a spot in the final by European outfit Estonia, who edged them via penalties on Friday, March 27.
ALSO READ: Grenada vs Kenya: Harambee Stars end FIFA Series 2026 on a high, beat Spice Boys to finish third
Kenya’s mission on Monday was to end on a high note and also snap McCarthy’s four-match winless run and they delivered.
Goals from Austin Odhiambo, Ryan Ogam, and a deflected strike by Zech Obiero sealed the victory over the lowly ranked Caribbean side, the Spice Boys.
Why Harambee Stars head coach Benni McCarthy remains worried despite third-place finish in Rwanda
However, despite the dominant win on Monday, the former Manchester United first-team coach remained uneasy, stating that although they won, the 10+ clear-cut chances they created left him with a concern that needs urgent fixing.
“I’m happy we were able to convert a couple of the chances we created, score, and deservedly win the game. But there’s still a cloud hanging over my head because if I assess us against Senegal, they made eight or nine chances and scored eight goals. Today we created 11 clear-cut chances,” McCarthy said after the match.
“So for me, that’s a little bit of a worry, that we aren’t able to finish games off when we have the chances we do, and we don’t score them.”
ALSO READ: McCarthy hits back at critics questioning Harambee Stars selection ahead of FIFA Series 2026
The Bafana Bafana legend, while pleased with the team’s victory, is also looking at the flip side.
He noted that even in the Estonia defeat, they crafted chances but still wasted them. He believes they should have reached the final, but it’s something to learn from.
“You should be happy with 3-0, but I think sometimes when you look at the other side of things…like how do you create so many clear-cut chances and not take them? Because the next team we face won’t be as lucky as we were today. You know, like against Estonia, we also created chances where we should have won the game and should have been playing in the next match, not now,” he added.
He stated that everything is a learning curve, and he hopes his lingering headache will soon bear fruit.
“Happy for the boys, happy that they could pick themselves up after losing on penalties…we take it, we learn, and hopefully we improve and take positives from this match, and yeah, we move forward.”
Harambee Stars managed to create opportunities in both matches they played in the tournament but scored only four goals overall.
That is an area McCarthy will continue refining as he integrates the squad and brings in new faces from both local and international leagues as part of a long-term investment especially with the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations approaching, which Kenya will co-host alongside Uganda and Tanzania.