•Firat summoned Kenya Police seasoned defender David Ochieng and Malawi-based Clyde Senaji to replace the duo of Zak Vyner and Tobias Knost, who have been ruled out of the encounter due to documentation hitches.
•Vyner, born in England and Knost, born in Germany, both earned a maiden call-up to the national team for Burundi and the Ivory Coast matches.
Image: FILE
Harambee Stars head coach Engin Firat has urged his charges to shoot on all cylinders in their crunch and decisive tie against Cote d'Ivoire.
The Kenyan lads face an uphill task in a do-or-die encounter against the African champions at the Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe, Malawi on Tuesday.
Any outcome other than a win would spell a catastrophe for the East African nation's campaign.
"We all appreciate the importance of collecting maximum points from our match against Ivory Coast on Tuesday," Firat remarked.
"We must give the match our best shot. Anything less than a win will put our campaign at risk," he added.
In a final roll of the dice, the Turkish gaffer has called up two central defenders to bolster Stsrs' last-ditch efforts of punching a maiden ticket to the quadrennial global showpiece.
Firat summoned Kenya Police seasoned defender David Ochieng and Malawi-based Clyde Senaji to replace the duo of Zak Vyner and Tobias Knost, who have been ruled out of the encounter due to documentation hitches.
Vyner, born in England and Knost, born in Germany, both earned a maiden call-up to the national team for Burundi and the Ivory Coast matches.
None of them was in the lineup against Burundi which ended in a one-all draw.
Vyner failed to obtain a Kenyan passport while Knost could not secure a release from the German federation after Kenya made a late request.
He had to be cleared after representing Germany at the junior level. Firat expressed his dismay at the unfortunate development.
"We have five or six players who are injured, but three players who were not injured also missed out on our match against Burundi due to laxity,” Firat remarked.
“We did all our tactical training with Zak Vyner. If Zak had been on the field today, we would have won. Sometimes people need to focus less on what's happening on the field and more on doing their jobs properly. Things that seem simple can be very complex here in Kenya," he added.
Vyner has already returned to the UK after it became clear he would not acquire his passport in time. Kenya is currently third in Group F with four points after three rounds of league matches.
Meanwhile, CAF has appointed Moroccan referees to preside over the match between Kenya and the Ivorians. Jayed Jalal will serve as the centre referee, with compatriots Jermoumi Fatiha and Lahmidi Yahya holding forte him as first and second assistant referees respectively.
Another Moroccan Chafiq Rachid has been appointed the fourth official while Gaye Fatou from Egypt will assess the referees, with Amir Abdi from Somalia serving as match commissioner.
The Kenyan lads will also flex muscles with Gambia beats Seychelles 5-1 I'm the first match overseen by immediate former Gor Mahia head coach Johnathan McKinstry.
Only the top team in the group will qualify for the 48-team World Cup, which will be played across 16 cities in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
Four of the best runners-up from the nine groups will have a chance in a playoff that will determine CAF’s representative in the Inter-confederation playoffs involving six teams, which will decide the last two FIFA World Cup berths