Coach McCarthy's 'tough decisions’ in naming Harambee Stars squad to face Gambia

The 47-year-old South African named his 23-man squad for those two matches on Wednesday last week and the days building up to his press briefing yesterday afternoon were dominated by the non-selection of 24-year-old Gor Mahia midfielder Austine Odhiambo. Out of the 23 players, 20 reported to camp on Monday.

Forward Emmanuel Osoro (Power Dynamos, Zambia), midfielder Timothy Ouma (Lech Poznan, Poland), and winger William Lenkupae (Vaasan Palloseura, Finland) were yet to arrive. Odhiambo scored two of Harambee Stars five goals at Chan 2024, the competition Kenya co-hosted with Tanzania and Uganda from August 2 to August 30. His goals came in Harambee Stars’ 1-0 win over DR Congo in the first match of the tournament and their 1-1 draw against Angola in their second match.

Read: Where is our dear Odhiambo, ‘Marcelo’ Ouma and Bajaber? Harambee Stars fans ask: 

 Odhiambo was an unused substitute during Kenya’s 1-0 win over Morocco but returned to the starting line-up for the 1-0 win over Zambia in Harambee Stars’ last group game of the tournament. That match against the Chipolopolo turned out to be his last appearance at Chan 2024.

Odhiambo was an unused substitute yet again as Madagascar eliminated Harambee Stars in the quarterfinal following a 4-3 penalty shootout victory that settled a match which had ended 1-1 after regulation and extra-time.

 When asked after Kenya bowed out of Chan 2024, McCarthy attributed Odhiambo’s exclusion from the team that played Madagascar to “tactical reasons”. However, when he left him out of the squad for the upcoming 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers against The Gambia and Seychelles, McCarthy gave no explanation, hence rendering speculations to fill the suspense.

 At the press briefing yesterday, McCarthy knew the question would come and the only strength he had for dealing with it was spent on swatting it away even before any question was asked. “Before we start, please, I do not want questions about Austin. On that, I am tired. Let me just focus on the players that I have. That is a question for another day, another time,” he said.

 Still, McCarthy hinted that Odhiambo would have been in the squad had circumstances not forced him to make “impossible and difficult decisions”.

“Even though I regret us going out at the quarterfinals, we had an amazing Chan tournament and that made the selection for this squad impossible and difficult. If I had wanted, I would have selected everyone from the Chan 2024 squad for the upcoming qualifier matches. However, that would have been unfair to the foreign-based players because they are as Kenyan as the rest and also deserve to be selected,” McCarthy stated before, incongruously, explaining the absences of several players from his squad due to medical and professional reasons.

Midfielder Amos Nondi (FK Partizani Tirana, Albania) and defender Erick ‘Marcelo’ Ouma (Raków Częstochowa, Poland) could not be selected because they are recovering from Achilles tendon injuries.

 Defender Joseph Okumu (Reims, France) is also out with an injury after suffering serious damage to ligaments in his left knee.

 Midfielder Aldrine Kibet, who plays for Celta Fortuna, the reserve team of Spanish LaLiga club Celta Vigo, was not considered for selection because he is yet to establish himself at his club. “It is too early to call him up,” McCarthy said.

 Everton midfielder Tyler Onyango, who has been loaned to League One club Stockport County, could have joined the squad had his papers been processed on time. “We had little time to do the business of getting him over,” McCarthy said.

  Read: How Benni McCarthy is turning Harambee Stars into title contenders

 Striker Jonah Ayunga of Scottish club St Mirren and defender Zak Vyner of the English Championship club Bristol City requested to be excused from the squad. “Ayunga wants to undergo rehabilitation because he has been playing with injections. Vyner is in the last year of his contract and prefers to use this time to concentrate on cementing his position in his team. As a former player, I understand their reasons. As a coach, I also want to work with players who are happy and ready to be here,” McCarthy said.

 One such player who is definitely happy to be in the squad is Real Sociedad B forward Job Ochieng’. McCarthy revealed that he had been keeping tabs on him, and it was only a matter of time before he called him up. “Real Sociedad B plays in a tough and competitive league. Ochieng’ will help us with his speed and goal-scoring ability,” McCarthy said.

 McCarthy revealed that he and his technical bench are monitoring more European-based players. However, with Harambee Stars virtually out of contention for qualifying for the 2026 Fifa World Cup, McCarthy plans to use Kenya’s four remaining qualifiers to give more local-based players a chance of experiencing international football.

“I need to build a strong team for the future. Of course, things would have been better if I was here from the start of the World Cup qualifying campaign because I would have had time to make my philosophy work and keep the team in contention for qualifying for the World Cup,” McCarthy said.

 McCarthy was appointed Harambee Stars’ coach in March 2025. By then, they had played four 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers under their former coach, the Turkish Engin Firat. Harambee Stars collected five points for those four matches. McCarthy’s first match in charge was a 3-3 draw in a 2026 Fifa World Cup match against The Gambia in March. “We should have won that game. The Gambia was there for the taking,” McCarthy said.

 The draw was followed by a 2-1 loss at home to Gabon on March 23 in McCarthy’s second match in charge. The match saw Harambee Stars play at home in a competitive match for the first time in four years and the attendance at the Nyayo National Stadium impressed McCarthy. “That match was the best atmosphere I have been part of. The Gambia should be ready for what will come at them on Friday because our 12th man has really been rallying behind us,” McCarthy said.

 Currently, Harambee Stars are fourth in Group ‘F’ after collecting six points from as many matches. They have registered only one win so far – against Seychelles in November last year. Their other five matches produced three draws (against Burundi, Cote d’Ivoire, and The Gambia) and home and away losses to Gabon.

 Cote d’Ivoire lead the group with 16 points. Gabon are second with 15 points, followed by Burundi, who are third with 10 points. The Gambia and Seychelles are fifth and sixth with four and zero points respectively.

 Captain Michael Olunga, who recently switched clubs from Al Duhail to Al Arabi, also spoke at the press briefing. He praised Kenya’s performance at Chan 2024 and hailed the improvement of sports infrastructure in the country.

“Chan 2024 proved that we have a strong league and it is encouraging to see good players coming up to strengthen the national team. We need to continue strengthening our league because that makes the national team stronger. I am also happy that Utalii Grounds is in good condition. It is an improvement from the last time I was here,” Olunga said.

“I urge Kenyans to watch local league matches too. Their support for local football matters a lot,” he added.