Harambee Stars drawn in Pool F ahead of the World Cup qualifiers

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Harambee Stars drawn in Pool F ahead of the World Cup qualifiers

Thursday 13th July, 2023 08:46 PM| By Collins Amanga

Kenya’s national football team, Harambee Stars, have been placed in Group F for the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers.

The group has strong opponents, including Ivory Coast, Seychelles, Gabon, Gambia, and Burundi. The stakes are high as the group winner will secure a direct qualification to the prestigious tournament.

Challenge for Harambee Stars

The qualifiers will be a challenging journey for Harambee Stars as they vie for their maiden appearance at the World Cup.

Harambee Stars will be making a return to competitive football after close to a year of a FIFA Ban which came after what was viewed as Government Interference.

Harambee Stars head coach Engin Firat and players in PHOTO/Harambee Stars/(@Harambee__Stars)/TWITTER.

FIFA lifted its ban on Kenya following the Government’s decision to reinstate Football Kenya Federation (FKF) had earlier been disbanded over corruption allegations.

The qualifiers are scheduled to take place over the course of two years, with ten matchdays spread across multiple international breaks.

Harambee stars matchday

The first matchday is set for November 13-21, 2023, followed by subsequent matchdays on June 3-11, 2024, March 17-25, 2025, September 1-9, 2025, October 6-14, 2025, and November 10-18, 2025.

The World Cup will be jointly hosted by Canada, the United States, and Mexico, and the tournament promises to be a grand spectacle for football fans worldwide.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) recently announced a modification in the qualifying procedure during its Executive Committee meeting in Algiers on May 18.

Harambee Stars players in a training session. PHOTO/Harambee Stars(@Harambee__Stars)/Twitter

The 54 countries participating in the qualifiers were seeded into six pots and then randomly placed into nine groups, each comprising six teams.

The top four group runners-up will compete in a play-off round to determine CAF’s representative at the FIFA play-off event.

The winning team from this play-off will join representatives from the other confederations in the final FIFA play-off competition, which will include a team from the host confederation, Concacaf.

FIFA Rankings

In line with the FIFA World Ranking, two of the six teams will be seeded. These seeded teams will face off against the winners of the first two knockout matches between the remaining unseeded teams, with the ultimate goal of securing a place in the FIFA World Cup.

The 2026 World Cup will mark the 23rd edition of the tournament and will see an expansion to 48 participating countries, up from the traditional 32.

This expansion allows for increased representation from African teams and other confederations. The final draw for the tournament will form 12 groups, each comprising four teams, resulting in a total of 104 games.

The tournament itself is expected to last between 38 to 40 days, providing even more excitement for football enthusiasts worldwide.