Bafana Bafana legend and current coach of Kenya Benni McCarthy said in a recent interview that if his side is drawn in the same group as South Africa in next year’s Afcon, his players will put up a good fight and will not get the 8-0 trouncing they suffered against Senegal in CHAN in November.
Well, Kenya was drawn in Group D alongside Bafana, Eritrea, and Guinea for the 2027 Afcon tournament, which will be co-hosted by Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda, and it remains to be seen how Benni, one of SA best players, will fare against Bafana, a team that launched him to stardom.
Knockout stages target
Speaking to Sunday World at the launch of his book in March, the former FC Porto, Blackburn Rovers and Ajax Amsterdam striker revealed that they will be targeting a place in the knockout stages of the tournament.
“We will do our best – we are most definitely targeting getting out of the group stages. And if we face Bafana Bafana, it will be tough, it will be really hard because for me, my heart is with Bafana. But of course, as a coach, you want to do the job for the country that you work for. So yeah, I want to do well, but I know it will be almost impossible for us.
“This is because the standard in South Africa is a much higher standard than Kenya. But like I said, sometimes it’s not about how high your standards are. It will be about the willing power and how good and organized your teams are. And I think my team is pretty organised, and they will give everything. We definitely won’t lose 8-0 like we did against Senegal,” he added.
‘Critics have no idea’
The outspoken McCarthy has slammed his critics who have been criticising him relentlessly since he took over the Kenya job.
“You have to respect people’s opinions, but they don’t know what you’re facing and what you have. If the league was as strong as the PSL and you had these kind of players to select from, then yeah, but they are limited. So what can you do when you have a team only for a week?
“In CHAN, I was able to work with the players for a month. We were drawn in the toughest group in the tournament. And we went to the quarterfinals, somewhere they’ve never, ever been before because we were able to get three, four weeks training sessions out – and you can install tactical, a lot of things you were able to do,” he added.
- Benni McCarthy, Kenya's coach and South African football legend, expressed confidence his team will fight hard if drawn with South Africa in the 2027 AFCON group stage, unlike the previous 8-0 defeat to Senegal in CHAN.
- Kenya was drawn in Group D with South Africa, Eritrea, and Guinea for the 2027 AFCON, co-hosted by Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.
- McCarthy aims for Kenya to advance to the knockout stages despite acknowledging South Africa's higher football standard.
- He emphasized Kenya’s team organization and willpower as key factors to avoid heavy defeats and improve performance.
- McCarthy criticized his detractors, highlighting limited player options and preparation time compared to other stronger leagues and stressing the importance of adequate training camps for success.
