Goals from Franck Kessie, Amad Diallo, and Yan Diomende ensured that the African champions punched the automatic ticket to the World Cup from Group F.
Harambee Stars had gone into the fixture basking in back-to-back wins after their qualification campaign had suffered a blow following a 3-1 defeat against Gambia on matchday seven.
After the defeat to the Scorpions, Kenya recovered to hammer Seychelles 5-0 in Nairobi, before edging out Burundi 1-0 away. Ahead of the game, coach McCarthy had warned Ivory Coast to anticipate a difficult game.
'Almost impossible to stop’
Speaking after the game, the South African legend conceded defeat, saying his side was overpowered by a side that had quality on all fronts.
“First I would like to congratulate Emerson (Fae), for qualifying Ivory Coast to the World Cup. Our objective in this game was to go out there and complicate, pose difficulties for Ivory Coast because we are professionals. We didn’t want to come here to lose the match,” said McCarthy after the game.
“We have to give credit which is due. You look at the quality, the players that Ivory Coast had, all internationals from European top clubs, and for Kenya, we are building, we have a young team.”
McCarthy continued: “We are learning, so it was to give everything we can, and play with pride, but unfortunately, when you play such a strong and experienced team like Ivory Coast, it was always going to be difficult, no matter how tactically you try to set out the game.
“They (Ivory Coast) just have too many individual quality players who can change a match. Amad (Diallo) is one of those players, Nicolas (Pepe), so it was always going to be almost impossible to stop a very good Ivory Coast side.
He concluded: “It was a fantastic learning experience for us, and I think in two years’ time, we will be ready, and we will be at a better level to be able to compete with teams like Ivory Coast.”
Kenya finish fourth with 12 points
Ivory Coast finished top with 26 points garnered from eight wins, two draws and zero defeats, while Gabon sealed the playoff slot after finishing second with 25 points. Kenya came fourth with 12 points.
Harambee Stars managed three wins, three draws and suffered four defeats. They started their journey with a 2-1 away defeat against Gabon, but recovered to beat Seychelles 5-0 in matchday two. They travelled to face Burundi, and managed a 1-1 draw, before forcing African champions Ivory Coast to a 0-0 outcome.
Kenya’s matchday five fixture took them to Gambia when they secured a thrilling 3-3 comeback draw, before returning home to lose 2-1 against Gabon. Though they had a slim chance to secure a World Cup spot heading into matchday seven against Gambia, Kenya were not able to capitalise on the opportunity.
Playing at home and spurred on by a sold-out crowd, they suffered a 3-1 defeat spearheaded by Yankuba Minteh. The Brighton winger grabbed a brace before Musa Barrow, who plays for Saudi Pro League club Al-Taawoun, ended their dream with the third goal.
Though Kenya recovered in matchday eight to complete a double over Seychelles after hammering them 5-0, their qualification chances had already gone up in smoke.
