Bafana Bafana legend Benni McCarthy suffered defeat in his first home match with Kenya following a 2-1 loss to Gabon in a 2026 World Cup qualifier on Sunday.
Playing in front of a sold-out Nyayo Stadium in Kenya’s capital Nairobi, McCarthy’s men had a much-improved display compared to Thursday’s thrilling 3-3 draw away to The Gambia but defensive mistakes proved costly.
Former Arsenal and Barcelona forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored both goals for Gabon with Kenya pulling one back courtesy of captain Michael Olunga.
Aubameyang’s brace sinks Kenya
Facing a must-win situation, Kenya found themselves trailing after 16 minutes when Aubameyang, unmarked in the box, fired home from close range from Guelor Kanga’s pass.
Two minutes later, Kenya had the ball in the net when Olunga scored from William Lenkupae’s pass but he was flagged offside. The strikers had two good opportunities after but missed the target.
After the break, Gabon extended their lead in the 52nd minute when Erick Ouma handled the ball in the box, leading to a penalty and Aubameyang stepped up to score.
Where does defeat leave Benni’s men?
The goal saw Kenya raise their game and in the 62nd minute, Ouma found Olunga with a great pass, the Qatar-based striker firing home from close and after, a combination of poor finishing and bad decision-making from Kenya denied them an opportunity to draw level.
Defeat leaves Kenya with an impossible job in their World Cup qualification journey as they are on six points from as many games, nine behind Group F leaders Gabon, while Ivory Coast can go 10 points ahead of them, if they beat The Gambia on Monday.
However, McCarthy will be delighted that his team showed great character and were not afraid to attack with only poor finishing denying them a win.
