Harambee Stars boss Benni McCarthy has sent a stern warning to the Ivory Coast ahead of their 2026 World Cup qualifier match. Harambee Stars will play Burundi and Ivory Coast in their last World Cup qualifier matches. Kenya’s men’s national football team will play their last qualifier matches for next year’s World Cup, but at this point, it is just a formality. With only two games left, Harambee Stars are fifth in Group F with a paltry nine points, 11 less than leaders Ivory Coast. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s Gabon are in second place with 20 points, while The Gambia are in third place with 10 points, the same as Burundi. Seychelles are yet to get any points so far.
Harambee Stars’ upcoming matches McCarthy’s men will play Burundi at the Intwari Stadium in Bujumbura on Thursday before they face Ivory Coast at the Alassane Outtara Stadium on Tuesday next week. Kenya drew with both teams in the first legs that were held in Malawi during that spell where the country didn’t have any accredited stadium. Under Engin Firat then, they held Ivory Coast to a goalless draw while Burundi scored a late equaliser to deny Harambee Stars maximum points. Benni McCarthy’s message to Ivory Coast McCarthy has insisted that his team will still be chasing maximum points even though the Ivory Coast will be in desperate need of maximum points. Only the first-placed team gets an automatic qualification to next year’s World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
“It is an opportunity for us to try and collect maximum points, but we know what is at stake. We are going into the lion’s den because for the Ivory Coast, a win will secure them passage to the World Cup,” McCarthy told the media on Monday afternoon. Harambee Stars players during a training session on October 6. “However, we are not there to do favours for anyone. We are going there where the objective is to collect maximum points. If we have to lose, let’s lose against a team where we know we had no possibility of winning the game.” The game in Abidjan could be dead rubber should Gabon fail to beat Gambia and Ivory Coast beat Seychelles. However, should the top two teams go into the last match day separated by just one point, there will be all to play for. Gabon play Burundi on home soil last.
By Martin Moses
