Benni McCarthy makes promise to Kenya fans after Gabon defeat

After coming from behind to draw 3-3 in their 2026 FIFA World Cup Africa qualifier against The Gambia in his debut encounter last Thursday, Kenya suffered a 2-1 loss to The Panthers in Nairobi last night.

A Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang brace left the Harambee Stars with too much to do in the second half as they remained fourth in Group F, but McCarthy, who was appointed three weeks ago, defended his limited time to implement the desired changes in his first camp.

"As a team, they had more togetherness than what we had [because] I've only been here a very short while, and there's so much you can try and change, but you're never going to get [things to] how or where you really want to be in only one week with the team," said McCarthy.

"So it was difficult and we are grateful for the support, the people of Kenya that came out to support – wow, this was the most memorable experience, even in my time playing as a player in Europe, this was what Africa should be about, it was just beautiful.

"But unfortunately we couldn't give the fans that joy by giving them a win, something to celebrate, but what we can promise is [that] we will improve and get better, and they will have a team that they can be very proud of."

Gabon currently occupy top spot with 15 points after six matches, followed by Ivory Coast and Burundi on 13 and seven points respectively, with both sides still having a game in hand.

Kenya have managed just six points from their six matches in the campaign so far, with McCarthy's charges having it all to do in their remaining four matches against The Gambia, Seychelles, Ivory Coast and Burundi.

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