Seychelles and Kenya will be looking to bounce back from their opening-day defeats when they square off in Group F of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers on Monday evening.

Vivan Bothe's men head into the game unbeaten in their previous six meetings with the Harambee Stars and will journey to the Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny looking to extend this dominant run.

Match preview

Seychelles were on the receiving end of their heaviest-ever competitive defeat on Friday as they suffered a 9-0 hammering at the hands of a rampant Ivory Coast side in the Group F curtain-raiser.

In a one-sided affair at the Olympic Stadium of Ebimpe, seven different players were on target for Les Elephants, with Red Bull Salzburg teenage sensation Karim Konate racking up two goals and two assists.

Seychelles' have now lost each of their last four outings, including three straight defeats in the 2023 COSAFA Cup, where they suffered a group-stage exit after finishing rock-bottom in Group B.

The Pirates' last victory came on March 23, when they managed to beat Bangladesh 1-0 in a friendly fixture at the Sylhet District Stadium courtesy of a second-half penalty from Michael Mancienne.

This remains Seychelles' only win across all competitions in the last seven years, a run stretching back to their 2-0 victory over Lesotho in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers back in March 2016.

Elsewhere, Kenya were denied a dream start to the World Cup qualifiers as they suffered a 2-1 defeat against Gabon after throwing away their lead in the final 30 minutes of the game.

Masoud Juma Choka opened the scoring in the 40th minute to put the hosts in front but Denis Bouanga and Guelor Kanga netted second-half goals to turn the game on its head at the Stade de Franceville.

This was Kenya's first competitive game since November 2021, when they picked up a 2-1 victory over Rwanda in the World Cup qualifiers courtesy of goals from Michael Olunga and Richard Odada.

However, Engin Firat's men have featured in six friendly fixtures since the start of 2023, losing three and picking up wins over Pakistan and Qatar respectively.

Kenya, who are currently 110th in the latest FIFA World Rankings, head into Monday's tie without a win in their last four competitive away matches, losing twice and claiming two draws since a 2-1 victory over Togo in March 2021.

However, the Harambee Stars will be backing themselves to get their qualifying campaign on track as they now take on an opposing side who are winless in each of their previous six encounters, losing five and claiming one draw since November 1992.

Team News

Bertrand Esparon came off injured midway through the first half against Ivory Coast last time out and the defender is a major doubt for Monday's matchup.

Should he fail to shake off the injury, Nick Labiche should come into the Seychelles XI, forming the back four with Kenan Nourice, Stephan Ladouce and Lucas Panayi.

Bothe should stick with the front three of Gervais Waye-Hive, Ryan Henriette and Brandon Labrosse, while Markus Payet and Elie Sopha should retain their roles in the centre of the park.

With his opener against Gabon, Choka has now scored in back-to-back games for Kenya and the Al-Jabalain man should spearhead the Harambee Stars' attack, alongside skipper Olunga.

Olunga is currently seventh in the nation's all-time scoring chart with 22 goals in 55 caps, while we expect Dennis Ng'ang'a and Estrela's Johnstone Omurwa to team up at the heart of the defence once again.

Seychelles possible starting lineup:
Simeon; Nourice, Labiche, Ladouce, Panayi; Raheriniaina, Payet, Sopha; Waye-Hive, Henriette, Labrosse

Kenya possible starting lineup:
Matasi; Omar, Ng'ang'a, Omurwa, Onyango; Muguna, Akumu, Odada, Nondi; Choka, Olunga

We say: Seychelles 0-1 Kenya

Fresh off the back of a humiliating opening-day defeat, Seychelles will head into Monday looking to restore some pride. However, given the gulf in quality and experience between the two sides, we are backing Kenya to build on the positives from Friday's loss against Gabon and extend their dominance over the Pirates.

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