Harambee Stars head coach Benni McCarthy has made an honest admission that qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be a difficult task for his side.
Kenya are currently sitting fourth in CAF qualifying Group F with six points from six matches, 10 points from pool leaders Ivory Coast and nine behind second-placed Gabon.
Kenya still has to face Gambia and Seychelles in September in the qualifiers, but the former Bafana Bafana international admitted that in as much as there is confidence in the team and the coach’s DNA, the current facts of the group make is impossible to have a realistic chance.
“I think the World Cup will be very difficult for us World Cup 2026 in the United States, Canada and Mexico for us to qualify,” McCarthy told CGTN Africa.
“Very difficult because the point gap between the first and fourth where we are. Ivory Coast is top of our group and they had a head start over us. Myself and my team, we came in and straight away, we had two matches, we drew one and we lost one – unfortunately to the second team in our group.
“So now, that kind of set us back a little bit but we tried our absolute best to try and give the country something to celebrate. And unfortunately losing to Gabon kind of sets us back massively.
“But I like to say a team should be the reflection of the managers, the coaches, and if the coach lives by this code, then that’s the kind of way you work and you work your team. So that’s the goal. So everybody else that’s in our team, in our camp, they will know that’s how we are.
“We have arrogance about us, but we also still very humble and respectful. But when it comes down to us, or you winning the game, then has to be us, because we just have that aggression, that bit of extra about us that we want to win. So we try and instil that into Kenya and Kenyan football.”
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