Benni McCarthy's poor start as Harambee Stars coach costs Kenya in FIFA Rankings

Harambee Stars coach Benni McCarthy admits Kenya's World Cup hopes are gone. (Credit: FKF Media)

Benni McCarthy's poor start as Harambee Stars coach costs Kenya in FIFA Rankings

Joel Omotto 12:23 - 03.04.2025

Kenya’s poor results in the World Cup qualifiers against The Gambia and Gabon last month has seen Harambee Stars drop in the latest FIFA Rankings.

Harambee Stars’ poor outing during the March international break has proved costly to their FIFA Rankings.

Kenya faced both The Gambia and Gabon in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers last month, drawing away before losing at home.

In what was coach Benni McCarthy’s first match in charge of Kenya, Harambee Stars fought back twice to draw 3-3 away to the Gambia in Abidjan on March 20, before losing 2-1 at home to Gabon three days later, when Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang’s brace sealed the win for The Panthers.

That effectively ended their World Cup qualification hopes, leaving them on six points from as many matches, and with Ivory Coast on 16 and Gabon on 15, it means they are out of contention for a place at next year’s tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

That poor start in McCarthy’s first two matches has cost Kenya in the FIFA rankings as Harambee Stars have dropped three places from position 108 to 111 as per the latest update made on Thursday.

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Uganda remain the highest ranked team in East Africa at position 98, but have dropped one place, with Tanzania at 107, after also dropping one place.

Kenya’s conquerors Gabon moved up five places to position 79 after their 3-0 win over Seychelles followed by the victory against Harambee Stars, while The Gambia have dropped one place to 126 after losing 1-0 to Ivory Coast before the 3-3 draw against Kenya.

On the continent, Morocco are the highest ranked African team at position 12 globally, after moving up two places, followed by Senegal, Egypt, Algeria while Ivory Coast complete the top five.

Globally, Argentina retained top spot with Spain replacing France in second place, as England and Brazil complete the top five.