Harambee Stars qualified for the knockout stages after topping Group A with 10 points, while Madagascar finished second in Group B with seven points. Kenya and Madagascar will be meeting for the first time at the CHAN tournament.
Kenya have had a successful campaign so far, winning three group matches and drawing one. They started their campaign with a 1-0 win against two-time CHAN winners DR Congo, before securing a 1-1 draw against Angola.
Kenya recovered to beat another two-time CHAN champions Morocco 1-0 despite playing with 10 men before rounding off their group matches with a 1-0 win against Zambia. McCarthy’s men conceded only once in four matches, underlining their defensive discipline.
The victory against the Chipolopolo, which was sealed by a second-half goal courtesy of Ryan Ogam, ensured that Kenya remained in Nairobi for their quarter-final clash. For the Barea, they managed two wins, one draw and suffered one defeat in a group that was won by hosts Tanzania with 10 points.
Kenya must remain grounded
Speaking ahead of the last eight fixture, the South African legend remained confident of getting a positive result but admitted it will not be an easy ride because they will be facing a tough opponent.
“There is still much more hard work to come from us, we will be ready for tomorrow (Friday), we will have our last training session and work on a few things, so I think calmness is what we need for the occasion, so that it doesn’t become a huge task for the players,” McCarthy told reporters.
“We must keep our feet on the ground, and stay humble, and just enjoy the ride that we are on, and I am looking forward to tomorrow, and hopefully we can do ourselves, and our families proud again, but on top of it all the nation, and fans that have always come out to support us.”
McCarthy added: “They (fans) have been part of the reason we are in this situation, because we have had the best support, which we could have hoped for, so tomorrow is our day to deliver, and give them even an extra joy, but we know football is never easy, we know we have a tough opponent ahead of us but I think we will be well prepared to get something positive from the game.
“We must focus on ourselves and come tomorrow, we know what we have to do, and we know what we want to achieve, so we need to have the perfect game plan, and a perfect execution, if we want to go through and make Kenyans happy, and enjoy the tournament even more.”
This will be Kenya’s third meeting with a COSAFA member nation at CHAN after a 1-1 draw with Angola and a 1-0 win over Zambia in the group stage.
For Madagascar, they will be facing a host nation for the second time, having lost 2-1 to Tanzania earlier in the group stages. It will also be Madagascar’s third meeting with East African opposition after beating Sudan 3-0 in 2022 and losing to Tanzania this year.
McCarthy and Kenya will be aiming to become the first debutants since Madagascar in 2022 to reach the semi-finals.
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