Michael Olunga Refuses to Give Up on Harambee Stars' World Cup Dream After Gabon Blow

Harambee Stars captain Michael Olunga has remained confident about Kenya’s chances of making it to the 2026 FIFA World Cup despite Gabon’s win that changed the standings.

Gabon thrashed Seychelles 4-0 to remain top of Group F with 18 points, with Ivory Coast in second with 16 points. Burundi are third with 10 points.

Following Gabon’s win, Kenya and The Ghana, in fourth and fifth, will cannot qualify directly to the World Cup but they have a chance to advance to the second round, something that Michael Olunga is banking on.

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The Al-Arabi striker revealed that despite the heartbreak handed to Harambee Stars by Gabon, they will go into the pitch on Friday, for their second leg match against The Gambia, with the motivation to make a mark.

Michael Olunga pointed out that they have to get the maximum 18 points, and even if they do not make it to the 2026 World Cup, they will have improved their FIFA rankings.

He added that Benni McCarthy is also building a tough team for the upcoming tournaments, and their two matches against The Gambia and Seychelles will help them develop.

“Of course, if you look at the results from yesterday’s game, Gabon picked up a win…practically, the maximum points we can take from this is 18, and in football, you never say never, we have to compete with everything,” Michael Olunga said in the pre-match press conference.

“First of all, it’s a big responsibility and an honour to represent the country to represent the nation so we want to fight hard until the last group game. Hopefully, we get to the maximum of 18 and see what happens there.

“Of course, we also want to build a team for the upcoming tournaments and also in terms of our FIFA rankings, we have to compete fairly and ensure we get good results so that in the next classification, we can be at a better place.”

In their first leg encounter against The Gambia, Harambee Stars frustrated the Scorpions to a 3-3 draw and having mastered their game plan, they now want to get a win over them. Playing on home soil will be a huge advantage for Harambee Stars too.

“Of course, we want to get maximum points. The last game, you saw that the team is hard to break but we have also assembled a strong team,” he added.

With Michael Olunga leading from the front, Harambee Stars are determined to push for maximum points against The Gambia and Seychelles, knowing that while World Cup qualification may be a long shot, every victory builds belief, improves rankings, and lays the foundation for a stronger future.