Harambee Stars eye upsets of upsets against European opposition
NAIROBI, Kenya, March 27, 2026 – Harambee Stars head coach Benni McCarthy believes his charges can cause one of the biggest upsets of the international by beating Estonia in Friday’s international friendly.
The South African says they will be going out for a win in Kigali, in a match that he describes as ‘historic’ for Kenya.
“The players want to win but like I said, it’s a challenge. It’s the first time we play against European opposition. We want to test our skills against where we are in terms of levels and as a team, as a unit against this lot. If we manage to do exceptionally well, then when it comes Monday and we are in the final or we’ve won it, that would be a nice bonus,” McCarthy said.
The two teams clash for the first time in history in the newly-formed Fifa Global Series on Friday evening at the Amahoro Stadium.
Winner of the tie will book a date with that of the other fixture between the hosts and Grenada.
The final is penciled for Monday.
Who’s the favourite?
By way of the latest Fifa rankings, Kenya come into the tie as the stronger of the two on paper.
McCarthy’s charges lie 113th on the rankings, 16 places higher than Friday’s opponents.
The former Manchester United forwards coach is of a different opinion though, crowning the Europeans as the favourites to progress to the final.
It is why he believes a Harambee Stars win will send tremors around the footballing universe.
“We can also surprise a lot of people, even the opponents, we can surprise them. I think that’s where I think my team is at. But tomorrow it will, we’ll confirm that, you know, that we are making strides in the right direction,” McCarthy said.
The Kenyans have been boosted by the arrival of Tranmere Rovers’ Zech Obiero who was sorting out his passport issues in Nairobi before flying out to Kigali.
McCarthy says the 21-year-old is itching to go although the final decision on whether he starts or bids his time on the bench rests with the boss.
“Zech will be pretty involved, like after today’s training, then it will just decide that if he starts or if he starts from the bench. It also depends on how we want to set up against this team tomorrow. We can see how training goes today for him and and we make a decision from there on the starting 11,” the gaffer said.
Another foreign-born player, Clarke Oduor, will link up with his peers on Friday morning after sorting out his passport issues in Nairobi.
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