AFCON 2019 Qualifiers

Group H

October 12

Guinea           Vs       Rwanda

Ivory Coast    Vs       CAR

October 16

Rwanda         Vs       Guinea

CAR                Vs       Ivory Coast

The national senior men’s football team, Amavubi, kick off their preparations for the upcoming two-legged tie against Guinea Conakry this afternoon at Amahoro National Stadium.

Rwanda and Guinea are part of the four-team Group H in the ongoing qualifiers of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals to be staged in Cameroon.

Guinea will host the first-leg at Stade du 28 Septembre in Conakry on October 12 before Kigali Stadium hosts the return-leg between the two sides four days later.

The 27-man largely youthful team, which was named last Wednesday, is in the hand of Vincent Mashami, who was appointed to the head coach role in August. The team camps at Golden Tulip La Palisse Hotel in Nyamata, Bugesera District.

According to a statement released by Rwanda Football Association (Ferwafa), Mashami and his technical team will start training with only home-based players, who will be joined by their foreign-based teammates at least five days ahead of the first game as required by the world football governing body.

APR and Mukura players will also join Amavubi camp, and will be freed to join their clubs on Thursday ahead of their Super Cup clash scheduled for October 6 at Stade Umuganda in Rubavu District.

Of the 27 players comprising the provisional squad, only seven ply their trades in foreign leagues. They include; Jacques Tuyisenge (Gor Mahia, Kenya), skipper Haruna Niyonzima and Meddie Kagere (Simba SC, Tanzania), Olivier Kwizera (Free State Stars, South Africa), Salomon Nirisarike (AFC Tubize, Belgium), Djihad Bizimana (Waasland-Beveren, Belgium) and Dany Usengimana (Tersana SC, Egypt).

The team will be training twice a day till October 8 when they will be departing for Conakry.

Ivory Coast and the Central African Republic are the other Group H members.

After two match rounds, Guinea top the group standings with six points, three points ahead of second and third-placed Ivory Coast and CAR. Rwanda is at the bottom without a single point.

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