Kenya’s Harambee Stars suffered a setback in their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign on Thursday night, going down 1-0 to Guinea at the Stade du 28 Septembre in Conakry.
The only goal of the contest came in the 37th minute, when Guinea talisman Serhou Guirassy found the net to hand the hosts their first points of the Group D campaign. Kenya pushed for an equaliser in the second half but could not find a way past a resolute Guinean defence.
The defeat leaves Benni McCarthy’s side with a single point from two matches, sitting third in a tightly contested Group D behind leaders South Africa, who have six points, and Guinea, now on three. Eritrea prop up the table on goal difference, also on a single point after their opening-day draw with Kenya.
Preparations for the trip to Conakry were reportedly disrupted by a dispute between players and team management over delayed allowances, which is said to have limited training time in the build-up to the match. Despite the distraction, Kenya largely matched Guinea for long stretches of the game before Guirassy’s intervention settled it.
The result piles pressure on McCarthy, who was brought in to revive the fortunes of a Harambee Stars side that has struggled to find consistency in recent qualifying campaigns. With South Africa setting the pace in the group, Kenya will need to quickly turn results around when qualifiers resume, starting with finding a response at home.
Football followers in the country have voiced frustration online over the recurring allowance disputes that appear to trail the national team into major fixtures, with many urging the football federation to resolve such matters well ahead of time to avoid distractions. Attention now turns to how the technical bench regroups the squad mentally and tactically ahead of the next round of qualifiers, with qualification for the expanded tournament still very much alive given the tight group standings.
For now, Kenya’s wait for a first win in the campaign continues, and the margin for error in a congested group has narrowed considerably.