Attacking football expected of Benni in Kenya qualifier

Gambia head coach Johnathan McKinstry believes that newly appointed Kenya mentor Benni McCarthy will play an exciting brand of football when the two nations meet in their latest 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifier at the Ouattara Ebimpé Olympic Stadium on Thursday.

Kick-off is at 9pm (CAT, GMT+2)

CURRENT FORM

The Harambee Stars stuttered during the opening exchanges of their 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifying bid and head into their next Group F assignment on the back of two consecutive draws against Burundi and Ivory Coast.

As it stands, Kenya occupy fourth spot in Group F and trail log leaders Ivory Coast by five points after four matches played.

Gambia are likewise hoping to get back to winning ways in Group F after suffering a 3-2 loss against Gabon in their most recent qualifier.

The Scorpions are currently fifthin their Group and trail Kenya by two points heading into the game that will be played in the Ivory Coast.

WHAT WAS SAID

With McCarthy taking the Kenya hotseat for the first time, the Bafana Bafana legend revealed that now is the time to ‘embrace’ challenges.

“I’m thrilled to lead my first two World Cup qualifiers. I’m eager to work with the talented squad I’ve selected for the campaign,” McCarthy said.

"There’s plenty of hard work and dedication ahead, but we’re ready to embrace the challenge as a team.”

McKinstry recently had his say on Benni’s appointment and thus expects Kenya to play an attacking brand of football going forward.

“It’s a new era in Kenyan Football,” McKinstry said.

“Benni has obviously taken over recently and, historically, Benni’s teams, if you look at his team’s in South Africa whether it was AmaZulu, whether it was Cape Town City, his teams have historically wanted to press more, wanted to be more attacking, he was obviously an incredible footballer himself.”

TEAM NEWS

Gambia have summoned 24 players for their next qualifying assignments and will rely on the European experience of both Musa Barrow and Yankuba. Also, Musa Dibaga, Saikou Touray and Gibril Sillah have joined the Gambia side as uncapped players.

The Harambee Stars have a lightly reduced team for their upcoming qualifiers, with only 22 players making the cut. Their squad also includes Michael Olunga, who is five goals away from becoming his nation’s all-time leading scorer (35).

HEAD-TO-HEAD

This will be the first meeting between Gambia and Kenya.