Rwanda Men’s Senior football team, Amavubi begun intensive preparations on Monday ahead of the two-legged play-off qualifiers against Ethiopia for a final place in 2018 African Nations Championship which is set to take place next January in Morocco.
Rwanda and Ethiopia face on November 5 in the first leg and November 12 in the second leg as both nations battle for the 16th place at the final tournament of the Total Africa Nations Championship, scheduled for Morocco from January 12 to February 4, 2018.
The Amavubi team trained twice on Monday and will continue on Tuesday with a double training session on Tuesday under the tutelage of head coach Antoine Hey assisted by coach Vincent Mashami and goalkeeper’s coach Thomas Higiro.
All players were available for the Monday’s training session except AS Kigali center back Soter Kayumba who was rested for the afternoon training to pave way for muscle recovery but he is expected to train with the rest of the squad today.
Amavubi’s skipper Eric Ndayishimiye expressed the team’s readiness to battle for the sole spot to ensure that Rwanda qualifies to next year’s championship.
“We are ready for this tough qualifying task against Ethiopia. We have been granted another chance to redeem ourselves following a disappointing final round exit to Uganda in August hence there is no room for mistakes, we are mentally, physically and physiologically ready to guide Rwanda to next year’s championship,” added Ndayishimiye.
The winner over the two legs will join Uganda and Sudan as representatives of the CECAFA at the next year’s African Nations Championship.
In August, Rwanda missed out of the final place as they lost to Uganda Cranes 2-3 on goal aggregate despite winning the home return leg 2-0.
Ethiopia was also bundled out by Sudan 2-1 on aggregate, leaving Uganda and hosts Kenya to advance as representatives for Central East Zone.
If Rwanda seals a win over Ethiopia in the two-legged qualifier, it will her third participation at the CHAN tournament since its inception in 2009.
Rwanda took part in the 2011 edition held in Sudan, managing a group stage finish before hosting the 2016 edition were they reached the quarter final round, losing to eventual winners DR Congo following their back to back wins. However, DR Congo will not be able to defend their title as they lost the qualification bid to neighbors Congo Brazzaville.
The draw for the final tournament is scheduled for November 17, 2017.
The Total Chan, which is in its 5th edition, is a competition which gathers exclusively players featuring in the national championships of their respective countries.
Training Program:
Tuesday, October 31, 2017: 9am (Closed Session)| 16:00 (Open Session)
Wednesday, November 1, 2017: 9am (Closed Session)| 16:00 (Open Session)
Thursday, November 2, 2017: 9am (Closed Session)| 14:00 (Media Briefing at FERWAFA)| 15:00 (Open Session)
Friday, November 3, 2017: Departure to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (16:00)
Amavubi squad:
Goalkeepers: Ndayishimiye Eric (Rayon Sports Fc), Nzarora Marcel (Police Fc) and Kimenyi Yves (APR Fc)
Defenders: Manzi Thierry (Rayon Sports Fc), Usengimana Faustin (Rayon Sports Fc), Kayumba Soter (AS Kigali), Ndayishimiye Celestin (Police Fc), Iradukunda Eric (AS Kigali), Herve Rugwiro (APR Fc), Rutanga Eric (Rayon Sports Fc) and Nyandwi Sadam (Rayon Sports Fc)
Midfielders: Bizimana Djihad (APR Fc), Mukunzi Yannick (Rayon Sports Fc), Niyonzima Olivier (Rayon Sports Fc), Hakizimana Muhadjiri (APR Fc), Nshimiyimana Amran (APR Fc), Niyonzima Ally (AS Kigali) and Nizeyimana Mirafa (Police Fc).
Forwards: Mico Justin (Police Fc), Imanishimwe Djabel (Rayon Sports Fc), Biramahire Abeddy (Police Fc), Nshuti Innocent (APR Fc), Nizeyimana Djuma (SC Kiyovu) and Sekamana Maxime (APR FC).
Photo: Forward Maxime Sekamana attempts to dribble past Muhadjiri Hakizimana and Manzi Thierry in Monday’s training session/Ruhagoyacu.com
Source: Ferwafa.rw
The Express News
