The Harambee Stars have already secured qualification to the AFCON 2027 tournament by virtue of co-hosting alongside Tanzania and Uganda.
However, Kenya has been drawn in group D of the qualifying phase alongside Eritrea, Guinea and South Africa, with only one team advancing to the next phase with the co-hosts.
Former Premier Soccer League coach Benni McCarthy has revealed he expects his toughest challenges to come from Guinea and his home nation South Africa.
"It's gonna be difficult because South Africa has always been seen as a class A category," admitted McCarthy.
"They always in the pot with Morocco, Senegal, so they get the good draws, teams like Kenya in the lower end, so that will be very difficult.
"I think Guinea also have superpower in their players like Guirassy, they have a strong team, established and participated in major tournaments more than us, they have more experience."
Kenya will kick-off their campaign when they host Eritrea at the Nyayo National Stadium on Saturday.
