Benni McCarthy Wants More Than Just the Last 16 With Harambee Stars at AFCON 2027: 'He's a Perfectionist'

Harambee Stars assistant coach Vasili Manousakis has outlined what the technical bench, led by Benni McCarthy, hopes to achieve with Kenya at the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

Kenya will co-host the tournament alongside Uganda and Tanzania and will be aiming to improve on its previous AFCON performances, having qualified for six editions (1972, 1988, 1990, 1992, 2004, and 2019) without progressing beyond the group stage.

Across 17 matches at the finals, Harambee Stars have managed just two victories, a 3-0 win over Burkina Faso in 2004 and a 3-2 triumph against Tanzania in 2019, as the coaching staff looks to guide the team to new heights on home soil.

Speaking to Kick Off, Vasili Manousakis explained that the technical bench has already established a clear football philosophy and tactical identity for Harambee Stars, with the focus now on ensuring the players fully understand and consistently apply those ideas on the pitch.

He noted that the coaching staff has been working to embed those concepts as quickly as possible, adding that the team's performance at the African Nations Championship (CHAN) demonstrated encouraging progress, even though they felt they had the quality to advance deeper into the competition.

The Harambee Stars assistant coach further revealed that the team has enjoyed a stable working environment, stressing that the technical bench has been allowed to carry out its duties without external influence or disruptions.

He added that since the lifting of the Football Kenya Federation's suspension, the project has continued to gather momentum, with the coaches receiving strong backing as they build a competitive squad capable of achieving their long-term ambitions.

“We know how we want to play, we know our principles, we know our models, and we try to instil that as quickly as possible into the team, and we had a fairly successful CHAN. I think we could have gone a little bit further, but that's the nature of the tournament,” he said.

“So no interference from anybody, no issues. You know, the ban was lifted, as you said, and from there we just went from strength to strength. And the support has been, so far, great.”

Vasili Manousakis acknowledged that Harambee Stars have never progressed beyond the group stage at the Africa Cup of Nations, saying the immediate objective is to guide the team into the knockout rounds for the first time in its history.

He explained that reaching the last 16 is viewed as an important milestone, but revealed that the coaching staff has privately set even higher ambitions as they prepare for the tournament.

He described head coach Benni McCarthy as someone driven by an unwavering desire to win and an obsession with maintaining the highest standards, qualities he believes have shaped the team's mentality since the technical bench took charge.

Vasili Manousakis added that while AFCON features some of the continent's strongest nations and presents a significant challenge, the coaching staff is confident Kenya has the quality, belief, and determination to compete with Africa's elite and potentially surpass its historic achievements.

“I think they've never, ever got out of the group stages in an AFCON. So certainly, we've got to say to ourselves, we've got to get out of the group, we've got to get ourselves into the last 16. And I think with the aspirations, you know, of our coaching team and being around Coach Benny for long enough,” Vasili Manousakis said.

“He's a winner. He's a perfectionist. And we've got a little target within ourselves that we want to go beyond that aim of reaching the last 16. And let's see how it goes. The competition is very, very stiff. There's so much quality in AFCON. But I believe we can compete, and we can go toe-to-toe with the best.”