Warm-up matches

Tuesday Rwanda U20 Vs SC Kiyovu Saturday Rwanda U20 1-1 Police FC

Rwanda Under-20 head coach Vincent Mashami says he got more than enough in the squad as the junior national team held topflight league side Police FC to a 1-1 draw in a warm-up match on Saturday at Amahoro National Stadium.

The junior national team is preparing for a 2019 U20 Africa Cup of Nations two-legged qualifier against Kenya next month.

Last week, Mashami announced a provisional 30-man squad for the two encounters with the Kenyan side, with the first game slated to be played away.

Dominique Ndayishimiye scored for Police FC in the 18th minute before forward Lague Byiringiro, who plays for APR FC, equalised for the U20 side in the 68th minute.

Mashami’s team will play the second and last warm-up match against another Azam Rwanda Premier League side, SC Kiyovu, on Tuesday, after which the coach will release the final 18-man squad that will travel to Nairobi on March 30.

"The performance against Police today was quite impressive from the young boys, and the result isn’t bad either—we are looking forward to the next game, against Kiyovu, and we hope to get another positive performance and result,” Mashami said after the match.

The first leg will be staged on April 1 at Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos County, while the return leg will be played on April 21 at Kigali Stadium in Nyamirambo.

The winners between Rwanda and Kenya will face defending champions Zambia in the second round in May. The final qualifying round will be staged in July with the winners earning automatic slots to next year’s Africa U20 Cup of Nations.

The U-20 Africa Cup of Nations is held every two years with the top 4 teams qualifying for the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

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