Former Gor Mahia head coach Bob Oyugi has asked Harambee Stars tactician Engin Firat to “stick to one lineup” in the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers but is not overly optimistic about Kenya’s chances of qualification.Oyugi, who also called out the Turkish Cypriot for “gambling with the squad and lacking consistency”, believes Firat keeping his squad together all through the qualifying round would have put him in a better position to make it through to Morocco next year.##NAJAVA_MECA_8495297##After a decent opening round of qualifiers, Oyugi says that Firat distorted the team chemistry the second time out, placing Kenya in a tight spot where they now have destiny out of their hands, and have to win their two remaining matches against Namibia and Zimbabwe, while hoping that the latter loses or draws in their final game against leaders Cameroon.Speaking to SportsBoom, Oyugi said: “We have gambled to the corner with different squads, and this is the reason we find ourselves fighting to earn the qualification ticket.Sticking with one team is the best thing a coach needs to do but Firat has been doing it the other way round. Changing players in every match means they cannot have consistency; they will be unable to know how to play together.”No Room for Complacency, warns Zimbabwe coach Michael Nees ahead of Kenya clashAsked about Kenya’s chances at qualification, he added: “It’s too late to continue discussing Harambee Stars. I don’t want to say they cannot qualify, football is unpredictable and if coach Firat fields a strong team and the players play knowing what is at stake, then they can easily win the two games, and Cameroon does them a favour against Zimbabwe.”The former Gor Mahia player however believes Kenya has the tools to work through qualification, but just lacks a proper identity.“In Kenya, most of our players are naturally gifted. We have dynamic players like Eric Ouma. Our main strength is the “unpredictability”, they can today beat Cameroon, and tomorrow lose to Somalia,” he said.On his preferred approach to the games – starting with the Zimbabwe clash on Friday 15 November at Peter Mokaba Stadium, Oyugi added: “I wish they could just play well with a well-balanced team with proper integrations of defense, midfield, and attack. The coach should let our boys just play as if we have nothing to lose.”On Tuesday, two changes were made to the squad in South Africa as Brian Bwire and Daniel Sakari came on to replace Ian Otieno and Adam Wilson respectively.Bwire, Sakari join Harambee Stars camp in South AfricaAFRICA CUP OF NATIONS – QUALIFIERSWednesday 16.00: (7.25) Namibia (3.60) Cameroon (1.57)19.00: (3.40) Liberia (3.10) Togo (2.30)22.00: (5.20) Chad (3.45) Sierra Leone (1.75)Thursday 16.00: (5.00) Equatorial Guinea (3.45) Algeria (1.78)16.00: (6.25) Lesotho (3.50) Central African Republic (1.65)16.00: (4.80) South Sudan (3.45) Congo (1.80)18.00: (2.90) Burundi (3.05) Malawi (2.65)19.00: (7.00) Madagascar (3.50) Tunisia (1.60)19.00: (1.70) Rwanda (3.50) Libya (5.50)22.00: (7.25) Benin (3.70) Nigeria (1.55)22.00: (4.50) Burkina Faso (3.45) Senegal (1.85)Friday 16.00: (2.35) Botswana (2.75) Mauritania (3.50)16.00: (2.95) Uganda (3.00) S.Africa (2.65)19.00: (2.60) Cape Verde (3.05) Egypt (2.70)19.00: (4.80) Eswatini (3.45) Guinea B. (1.80)19.00: (4.20) Mozambique (3.20) Mali (2.00)19.00: (3.90) Zambia (3.20) Ivory Coast (1.95)19.00: (2.60) Zimbabwe (2.90) Kenya (2.85)22.00: (3.20) Angola (3.10) Ghana (2.40)22.00: (5.40) Gabon (3.50) Morocco (1.72)Saturday 19.00: (3.30) Ethiopia (2.75) Tanzania (2.45)22.00: (2.45) Guinea (3.10) Dr Congo (3.15)***odds are subject to change***
