NAIROBI, Kenya, November 15, 2026 – Harambee Stars head coach Benni McCarthy believes the team can reach the quarters or semi-finals of next year’s Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) on home soil.
The South African said Kenya’s performance against his motherland in Soweto on Friday is enough evidence of their ability to compete with the crème-de-la-crème of the continent.
“This game was a good indication for where we are and where we’re looking to go to test ourselves. A bigger and better opposition than this that we faced today, we’re not going to get. If you can compete with the likes of Bafana, then you already set yourself up. You can start dreaming about quarter-finals, semi-finals because this is the kind of opposition you’re going to get when you go into a major tournament,” the former Manchester United coach said.
McCarthy further justified his confidence on the promising number of young players – particularly those in the under 23 side – who he said are loudly knocking on the door of the senior side.
In light of these factors, the former Bafana Bafana marksman reiterated that Harambee Stars will not be mere also-rans at the continental showpiece.
“We also have a lot of good under-23 young players that can also come into the squad. I’m excited to see when I have another chance to bring in some other players into the squad as well. Then to see where we are and what we can build for AFCON,” McCarthy explained.
Against the bookmakers’ odds, Stars ground out one of their best away results in recent times, holding the 1996 African champions to a 2-2 draw in their Afcon qualifier tie.
The team exhibited nerves of steel and grit to come back twice from behind, Ryan Ogam adding the cherry on top with a brilliant solo finish to earn a share of the spoils.
Reminiscing on the end-to-end encounter, McCarthy admitted he would not have loved to be sitting on the edge of the seat as he did throughout the 90 plus minutes.
“A good game of football. A little bit too basketball-like for my liking. I would have liked to have had a bit more control of the game, especially when we were 1-1 up. Before half-time I thought we got into the game good and then we controlled most of the situations. In the second half Bafana came out, but I still thought we controlled the game good and we managed the situation,” he said.
As far as muddying the waters for his home country is concerned, the gaffer said his focus was solely on getting all the three points for the team that currently pays his salary.
“At the end of the day, it’s a football match and you coach because you want your team to win. So unfortunately, I wasn’t able to help them get over the line. But they’ve got another opportunity to come to Kenya and hopefully get something positive from that game,” McCarthy, who top scored for Bafana Bafana at the 1998 Afcon, said.
The two teams clash again on Tuesday night at the Nyayo Stadium, a match that is already eliciting excitement among football lovers in both countries.
