{"id":17373,"date":"2025-03-17T13:52:35","date_gmt":"2025-03-17T13:52:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.getufm.co.ke\/?p=17373"},"modified":"2025-03-17T13:53:13","modified_gmt":"2025-03-17T13:53:13","slug":"benni-mccarthy-names-harambee-stars-squad-for-world-cup-qualifier-against-gambia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.getufm.co.ke\/?p=17373","title":{"rendered":"Benni McCarthy Names Harambee Stars Squad for World Cup Qualifier Against Gambia."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Newly appointed Harambee Stars<\/strong> head coach Benni McCarthy<\/strong> has unveiled his 23-man squad<\/strong> for Kenya\u2019s upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier<\/strong> against Gambia<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The crucial match will take place at the Alassane Ouattara Ebimpe Olympic Stadium in Ivory Coast<\/strong> on Thursday, March 20, 2025<\/strong>. The fixture has been moved to a neutral venue as Gambia\u2019s home ground<\/strong> does not meet FIFA and CAF standards<\/strong> for competitive matches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McCarthy, who officially took charge on March 12<\/strong>, expressed confidence in his squad, highlighting the blend of experienced and young players<\/strong> as key to the team’s success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harambee Stars 23-Man Squad:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Goalkeepers:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Ian Otieno<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Brian Bwire<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Faruk Shikhalo<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Defenders:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • Jonestone Omurwa<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Brian Mandela<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Daniel Anyembe<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Amos Nondi<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Erick Ouma<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Manzur Okwaro<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Ronny Onyango<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      Midfielders:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      • Anthony Akumu<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Richard Odada<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Ismael Gonzalez<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Timothy Ouma<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Eric Johana<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Duke Abuya<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Mohammed Bajaber<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Ben Stanley Omondi<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        Forwards:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n
        • Masud Juma<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Jonah Ayunga<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Elvis Rupia<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • John Avire<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Michael Olunga<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

          McCarthy\u2019s first training sessions with the team have focused on tactical adjustments and team cohesion<\/strong>, as the Harambee Stars prepare for a crucial World Cup qualifying campaign<\/strong>. Fans will be eager to see how the South African coach influences the squad as Kenya pushes for a historic World Cup qualification.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Newly appointed Harambee Stars head coach Benni McCarthy has unveiled his 23-man squad for Kenya\u2019s upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Gambia. The crucial match will take place at the Alassane Ouattara Ebimpe Olympic Stadium in Ivory Coast on Thursday, March 20, 2025. The fixture has been moved to a neutral venue as Gambia\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":17374,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-sports"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.getufm.co.ke\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/1742151054810_jkklsdl_1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.getufm.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.getufm.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.getufm.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.getufm.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.getufm.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17373"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.getufm.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17373\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17375,"href":"https:\/\/www.getufm.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17373\/revisions\/17375"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.getufm.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.getufm.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.getufm.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.getufm.co.ke\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}