Bitter Sweet Moment for Benni McCarthy as South Africa Clinch World Cup Ticket while Harambee Stars Get Thrashing

Harambee Stars coach Benni McCarthy had a roller-coaster of emotions on Tuesday as he watched his country qualify for the World Cup while his team suffered a heavy defeat.

Harambee Stars boss Benni McCarthy is among those left with mixed emotions following the conclusion of the World Cup qualifiers.

McCarthy’s final qualification match ended in disappointment when Kenya were thrashed 3-0 by Ivory Coast in Abidjan on Tuesday night.

Kenya were already out of the running while the Ivorians needed to win to seal their ticket and Franck Kessie’s seventh minute goal set them well on course before second half strikes from youngsters Yan Diomande and Amad Diallo completed the beating.

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Pirates Stars Do the Job for Bafana Bafana

McCarthy cut a forlorn figure on the touchline throughout the contest but he must have been feeling some delight inside as just before Kenya faced Ivory Coast, South Africa had secured their return to the World Cup for the first time since hosting it in 2010.

On a day of drama in Group C, South Africa were praying that Nigeria beat Benin while they do the same to Rwanda and that is exactly what happened.

Bafana Bafana thrashed Rwanda 3-0 thanks to goals from Orlando Pirates stars Thalente Mbatha, Oswin Appollis and Evidence Makgopa while Nigeria beat Benin 4-0, helping Hugo Broos’ men sail through as group leaders, while the Super Eagles were second.

Broos Ended 23 Years of Failure for South Africa

South Africa had come into the match two points behind Benin on 15 with Nigeria on 14 but at the end of the day, Bafana Bafana had 18, the Super Eagles on 17, as the West Africans secured one of the four playoffs slots.

For McCarthy, it is a great moment for his country as the last time they had qualified for the World Cup was in the 2002 edition in Japan and South Korea, when he was part of the team.

Since then, it has been misses and only played the 2010 edition because they were hosts, but veteran Belgian coach Broos has woken them from slumber, forming a formidable team made of locally-based players most of who play for Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns.