Harambee Stars head coach Engin Firat and his players were under massive pressure to deliver nothing but a win in the second 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Namibia.Kenya kicked off their qualifying campaign with a dull barren draw against Zimbabwe last week, a result which seemingly elicited anger from Kenyan fans.Calls to have Firat relieved of his duties were amplified especially on social media, leaving the Turkish with no option other than to win against Namibia.##NAJAVA_MECA_8329019##The pressure yielded fruits as a player, who sought anonymity, revealed that Firat reminded them of the expectations of Kenyans in their final talks before the match. “He emphasized the need to not only play for the sake of winning the match but meeting the hopes of Kenyans,” said the player who clocked full minutes in the match. In Firat’s address to the media after the game, he revealed that he had some stern words for his charges at halftime which worked their magic in the closing half.Harambee Stars coach Engin Firat reads riot act after going nine months without salary”In the first half, I was not so happy with our boys because we were not going into the challenges like I would want. Namibia were a bit aggressive.At half-time, we had a bit of a loud talk with the players and after this, we made some changes to stop the problem we had in the midfield and in the second half Namibia only had long balls which were not so much of a problem for us,” said Firat.The narrow win over Namibia resuscitated hopes of securing a return to the Africa Cup of Nations as Kenya is placed top of Group J with four points. ##NAJAVA_MECA_8326030##Cameroon follows in closely with a similar tally with Zimbabwe third on two points while Namibia are yet to bag a point in the pool. The win over Namibia was well received by Kenyans, who hailed the playing unit for redeeming themselves and restoring hopes of an AFCON ticket. The former Moldova national team coach, in his post-match talk, implored the players to remain focused as there are crucial assignments in the October international window.Harambee Stars move top after securing second AFCON away qualifier win in 22 yearsStars will take on, five-time African champions, Cameroon in Match Day Three and Four of the qualifiers which will either make or break their qualification campaign.”He warned us against over-celebrating the win against Namibia as the job was not done yet,” added the player.
