Harambee Stars head coach Benni McCarthy has hit back at critics around his team selection following Friday’s 3-1 thumping by Gambia.
Both sides are already out of the running to qualify for next year’s FIFA World Cup to be hosted by USA, Canada and Mexico.
The legendary Bafana Bafana top goalscorer opted to call up the regular players while a number of the players from their African Nations Championship (CHAN) squad that reached the last eight started on the bench.
“CHAN is a continental tournament. World Cup qualifiers are played at the international level,” McCarthy said, as quoted by SportPesa Blog.
“Here, you’re facing players who compete in Serie A, the Premier League, La Liga. You simply can’t compare the Kenyan Premier League with those elite competitions.
“People want me to start the CHAN squad which I’d love to but realistically, do you want us to lose 5–0 or even 10–0? This is a different level of football.
“Still, we offered opportunities to players like Bryne Omondi, Manzur Okwaro, and Alpha Onyango. It’s about gradually developing them, integrating local talent with our foreign-based players.
“If I’m being honest, had I started Alphonce Omija, Sylvester Owino, Lewis Bandi, and Aboud Omar, we might have conceded 10 goals. That’s the level we are dealing with.”
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