Harambee Stars Coach Explains Why Charges Will Not Park The Bus Against Ivory Coast in Abidjan

Harambee Stars take on African Champions Ivory Coast in a high stakes World Cup qualifying encounter in Abidjan on Tuesday.

Harambee Stars assistant coach Vasili Manousakis has outlined Kenya’s fearless approach ahead of their crucial World Cup qualifier against Ivory Coast in Abidjan on Tuesday night, insisting the team will not sit back but instead “take the game” to the reigning African champions.

Speaking during the team’s training session in Abidjan on Sunday, Manousakis highlighted the growing belief within the Kenyan camp following two consecutive victories and with clean sheets — against Burundi and Seychelles.

The South African tactician, who has been working alongside head coach Benni McCarthy, believes that momentum and mentality are beginning to define the new-look Stars squad.

“Anytime the national team takes the pitch, the intention is to win,” Manousakis said. “We have to go out, we have to create that winning culture. 

“And of course now it’s two wins back to back on the road, two clean sheets. So the mindset, the mentality is definitely to go out and do our best to try and win.”

The former Cape Town City coach admitted that facing Ivory Coast — who are unbeaten in the group — will be a monumental challenge, but one Kenya is ready for.

“Of course we know the quality within the Ivory Coast squad. If memory serves me correctly, I don’t think in the group they’ve lost a game throughout this campaign. We know the task is tough, but we believe in ourselves,” he said.

Manousakis pointed to the team’s resilience and growing maturity under McCarthy, particularly in the win against Burundi, where Kenya were forced to grind out a result under pressure.

We Are Not Going to Defend Against Ivory Coast

“Nobody really gave us a chance away to Burundi. Even there, we showed we needed to dig deep, despite playing against ten men with a crowd behind them. We’ve also been in that situation before in CHAN and we’ve won with ten men, so we knew the difficulty of the task and managed to get the three points,” he explained.

With the Elephants boasting attacking firepower in Sebastien Haller, Simon Adingra, and Amad Diallo, many expect Kenya to adopt a defensive approach. But Manousakis dismissed suggestions of “parking the bus,” saying that such a strategy would invite danger.

“The mindset and the mentality is to approach the game in the same manner and to play off the front foot and try to go for the win. 

“I think any team that knows if you try to sit back and defend 97 or 98 minutes against Ivory Coast, it’s going to be a very difficult task and a very long match — and we don’t intend to do that,” he stated.

Instead, he urged his players to be proactive, use their pace on the break, and play without fear.

“We’ll take the game to them. We can’t worry about what their objectives are and what they have to do. We want to try and win the match and we want to try and finish third in the group, which I think would be respectable.”

With confidence growing under McCarthy’s leadership and a squad brimming with youthful energy — including in-form forward Ryan Ogam and defensive rock Collins Sichenje — Kenya will enter the match aiming to spring another surprise on the continent.

A victory in Abidjan would not only dent Ivory Coast’s perfect record but also underline Kenya’s growing maturity and ambition under their new technical team — a clear sign that the Harambee Stars are determined to shake off their underdog tag once and for all.