Kenya national team head coach Benni McCarthy has opened up on the issues they are currently facing ahead of the back-to-back crunch 2027 AFCON qualifiers against Pitso Mosimane’s Bafana Bafana.
Kenya is one of the three nations that will be hosting the 2027 AFCON alongside Tanzania and Uganda. The Harambee Stars are in Group D alongside Bafana, Guinea, and Eritrea but have already sealed qualification by virtue of being co-hosts.
After two games, McCarthy’s side finds themselves in third place with one point after playing to a 1-1 draw against Eritrea and losing 2-1 to Guinea away from home. McCarthy and his troops have been facing lots of off-the-field issues which have had a huge impact on their preparations for the AFCON.
In the next international break, Kenya will face South Africa in back-to-back ties which is expected to produce fireworks with two South African coaches leading the two nations.
McCarthy has since opened up on the issues that they are currently facing in Kenya including the local league which has yet to resume.
“You know, but if people are expecting me to beat Bafana, to beat Morocco, to beat Senegal, it’s very hard; it’s a very impossible task because of the players that those countries have and the leagues that they play for and the players that we have in Kenya,” McCarthy told the media.
“Not everybody plays in Europe, so a lot of our players come from the local leagues in Kenya. And just so you know also, people are calling for Kenyan players, but the league has not even started. So, none of the players in Kenya have played a single league match.
“So how do you select players who haven’t even played, and the rest of the world, the competitions have already started? So, I think from the outside it’s always easy.
“Everybody on the outside is the best coach, the best players. But when you get a chance to be on this side, then you see how hard it is.”