The Tunisian Football Federation have revealed that they are no longer pursuing a naturalisation bid for Ivorian-born midfielder Fousseny Coulibaly.
The 28-year-old had been identified as a target by the national side ahead of their World Cup campaign later this year, but despite being included in a 27-man squad in December as part of tournament preparations, he is out of the running for a spot in Russia.
A communique issued by the FTF confirmed that they have decided to drop attempts to pass through the player's naturalisation after deciding that he no longer had a role to play in their competition plans.
"Contrary to reports in some media outlets and websites, the Ministry of Justice has not refused to naturalise Coulibaly," began the statement. "[The Federation] find that the player would not contribute anything decisive ahead of the World Cup.
"The federation is not intending to consider him for the World Cup."
Regardless of the success of Coulibaly's naturalisation, he still would have needed clearance from FIFA to switch allegiances and was always going to be a contentious inclusion for Tunisia having already represented the Ivory Coast.
The midfielder featured for the Elephants in a 2014 African Nations Championship qualifier against Nigeria in July 2013, a match considered to be a full international by FIFA.
Coulibaly has been a notable presence in the Tunisian game since 2013 when he joined US Monastir from Ivorian side Stella Adjame.
He's since featured for domestic giants Esperance Sportive de Tunis, with whom he won the Tunisian title last term, and spent time on loan at Stade Tunisien.
The towering operator has also lifted the Tunisian Cup and the Arabic Champions League since moving to North Africa.