Ivory Coast head coach Emerse Fae has warned that his charges will not underrate Kenya’s Harambee Stars when they face off in a Group F fixture of their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe on Tuesday.

“Kenya is a good team. It has a good striker, Michael Olunga, who is a great player with the ability to play in different formations,” Fae told the media ahead of the game. “Kenya is a team difficult to play against, and we know they are working hard to be the first team to beat the African champions. We are for sure prepared to face a tough opposition.

“Today in Africa there is no big team or small team; any team can beat any opponent, and therefore we need to be focused against Kenya.”

“For sure, the pressure is there when you are a football manager. This is normal when you are working for a very demanding team like this. As a team, we have two objectives at this moment. The first one is to go to the World Cup because Ivory Coast missed the last two editions and the second goal is to qualify to the African Cup of Nations in Morocco.”