{"id":9656,"date":"2026-02-17T15:28:29","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T15:28:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.salientspmgt.co.ke\/?p=9656"},"modified":"2026-02-17T15:32:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T15:32:20","slug":"mccarthy-targets-historic-afcon-2027-run-for-kenya","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.salientspmgt.co.ke\/?p=9656","title":{"rendered":"McCarthy Targets Historic AFCON 2027 Run for Kenya"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nairobi Kenya:<\/strong> Harambee Stars head coach Benni McCarthy has set his sights on guiding Kenya past the group stages of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), banking on home advantage and what he describes as immense local talent.<\/p>\n

Speaking in an exclusive interview with South Africa\u2019s outlet CMTV, McCarthy expressed confidence that Kenya, who will co-host Africa Cup of Nations in 2027, can finally achieve a milestone the nation has never reached at the continental showpiece.<\/p>\n

\u201cKenya is an upcoming nation, an East African nation, a sleeping giant,\u201d McCarthy said. \u201cThe talent I\u2019ve seen over the past year working in Kenya is immense. They have a great mentality, good work ethic, fantastic running power, and we want to convert that into football.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Kenya have featured at AFCON six times\u2014in 1972, 1988, 1990, 1992, 2004 and 2019\u2014but have exited at the group stage on every occasion. With the expanded tournament format and the backing of home fans, McCarthy believes the time is right to change that narrative.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe progress has been good,\u201d he noted. \u201cBut as hosts, you want to at least get out of the group stages. That\u2019s the minimum expectation.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

However, the former Bafana Bafana striker admitted that the tournament draw will play a crucial role in determining how far the Harambee Stars can go. He hopes Kenya avoid heavyweight opponents early on.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am praying that we don\u2019t get a \u2018Group of Death\u2019,\u201d McCarthy said. \u201cIf you\u2019re grouped with teams like Morocco, Ivory Coast or Senegal, then you know it\u2019s extremely difficult.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Instead, McCarthy is eyeing a more balanced group that would give Kenya a realistic chance to progress\u2014similar to their run at the African Nations Championship (CHAN) in 2024, where they reached the quarter-finals.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we are in a modest group, we can have a fighting chance,\u201d he added. \u201cThe first goal is to get out of the group and have the same impact we had at CHAN.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

With AFCON 2027 fast approaching, McCarthy\u2019s message is clear: Kenya are no longer just hosts\u2014they want to compete, progress, and make history on home soil.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nairobi Kenya: Harambee Stars head coach Benni McCarthy has set his sights on guiding Kenya past the group stages of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), banking on home advantage and what he describes as immense local talent. Speaking in an exclusive interview with South Africa\u2019s outlet CMTV, McCarthy expressed confidence that Kenya, who<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9658,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-9656","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.salientspmgt.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9656","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.salientspmgt.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.salientspmgt.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.salientspmgt.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.salientspmgt.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9656"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.salientspmgt.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9656\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9657,"href":"https:\/\/news.salientspmgt.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9656\/revisions\/9657"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.salientspmgt.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.salientspmgt.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.salientspmgt.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.salientspmgt.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}