After a tumultuous week dominated by a players’ strike over allowances and a coach lamenting poor planning, the rubber hits the road for Kenya’s Harambee Stars when they welcome their latter day bogey team, Eritrea, in their opening Group ‘D’ match of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi, from 4pm.
Will the local lads put aside their woes and get to the job of putting away Eritrea, a team they have not beaten in their past three meetings, or will the troubles of the week take their toll?
Harambee Stars head coach Benni McCarthy and striker Ryan Ogam at a pre-match press conference at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi on September 25, 2026.
Photo credit: Chris Omollo| Nation Media Group
Stars, coached by South African legend Bennie McCarthy, reported to camp on Tuesday, but their preparations were disrupted by a strike over unpaid allowances.
Amidst talk of dissatisfaction over allowance payments, the player finally held their first official training session on Friday morning at the match venue.
McCarthy was practical enough to admit that the disruption was far from ideal as Kenya seeks to make a positive start in a group that also features favourites South Africa and Guinea.
“It’s not ideal how anyone could prepare for a qualifying match, but that is what it is. I think this whole week has been a complete and utter disaster for us in terms of preparing as the host nation,” McCarthy said during a pre-match press conference at Nyayo National Stadium.
“For me, these games, we have to qualify like everybody else. I think tomorrow (Saturday) we’ll just go out there, be professional and play.”
The South African, who took charge of Stars in March last year, believes the fact that most of his players have been active for their respective clubs will help them cope with the limited preparation time.
“Most of the players have been training and playing with their teams abroad, so in terms of fitness levels, we are not much worse off. But there were a couple of days of setback,” he said.
McCarthy said Friday's training session offered encouragement ahead of the encounter, while also giving his assessment of the Nyayo playing surface.
“Today felt good. The pitch looks decent enough. Hopefully, tomorrow it can be a bit flatter. It will help the boys as well,” he said.
Harambee Stars players prepare for their training session at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi on September 25, 2026.
Photo credit: Chris Omollo| Nation Media Group
Despite the setbacks, McCarthy said his players would focus on what they can control, insisting that Kenya’s target is to finish in the top two in the group even though Harambee Stars have already secured automatic qualification for the 2027 Afcon by virtue of being the hosts jointly with Uganda and Tanzania.
McCarthy admitted he had not yet settled on his starting XI and would make the final decision with his technical team later in the day.
McCarthy named his final 24-man squad last Thursday, with nine players drawn from local clubs who have gone nearly four months without regular competitive action.
Stars suffered an early blow following the withdrawal of first-choice striker and captain Michael Olunga with injury. Ryan Ogam of Belgium’s second-tier side RFC Luttich should pick up the attacking mantle.
Other options are unattached Mohammed Bajaber, Job Ochieng’ of Real Sociedad in Spain, Javana Ochieng’ of Hickory (USA), Micah Obiero of Carlisle United (England).
“It was the first training session we have had since we have been in camp. And the feeling in the camp is positive. I think everyone is happy now. And we’ve got to tomorrow (Saturday), to focus on the match and hopefully perform,” said Ogam, relishing the challenge.
The locally based contingent includes goalkeepers Byrne Omondi of Gor Mahia, Nairobi United custodian Faruk Shikhalo and Tusker’s Ian Otieno.
In defence, McCarthy selected Tusker’s Aboud Omar alongside Gor Mahia duo Michael Kibagwe and Frank Odhiambo. Tusker midfielder Chris Erambo also made the cut, while Gor Mahia forwards Shariff Musa and Ben Stanley complete the local contingent.
Players from Tusker and Gor Mahia have, however, enjoyed some competitive action after the two clubs represented Kenya in continental competitions, with Tusker featuring in the CAF Confederation Cup and Gor Mahia competing in the CAF Champions League.
The foreign-based contingent includes defenders Rooney Onyango of Sogndal (Norway), Hannif Wesonga of Jamus (South Sudan), Stanley Wilson of AIK (Sweden), Amos Wanjala of Valencia in Spain and Vincent Harpers of Exeter City (England).
In midfield, McCarthy has the options of Manzur Okwaro of Stade de Reims (France), Timothy Ouma of Charlton Athletic (England), Duke Abuya of Yanga (Tanzania) and Marvin Nabwire of Power Dynamos in Zambia.
Eritrea, coached by Egyptian Hesham Yakan and ranked 184th by Fifa, arrived in Kenya earlier on Tuesday.
Eritrea national football team players before their training session at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi on September 25, 2026.
Photo credit: Chris Omollo| Nation Media Group
The team has had limited competitive action in recent years, making them a difficult side to assess due to the lack of extensive footage available to Kenya’s technical bench.
Eritrea played two friendly matches against Niger in May last year, losing 1-0 and drawing 0-0.
Eleven months later, they faced Eswatini in the preliminary round of the Afcon qualifiers, winning 2-1 in the first leg and 2-0 in the return match to progress to the group-stage qualifiers 4-1 on aggregate.
But they will fancy their chances against a team they have beaten in their last three encounters. The match will be the 10th meeting between the two nations. Kenya, though, have won five times with one draw and three defeats.
The two sides last met competitively on Kenyan soil in 2006 during the Afcon qualifiers, when Eritrea stunned Stars 2-1 at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani.
Their most recent meeting came in the 2019 Cecafa Kagame Cup in Uganda, where the Eritreans thrashed Kenya 4-1.
Troubled preps or not, Harambee Stars will want to gain ample revenge on a team that has inexplicably beaten them, not once, but three times in a row.
