Sept 1 Mali vs Rwanda

September 5 Rwanda vs Kenya 

Skipper Haruna Niyonzima has issued a rallying call to his Amavubi teammates to step up and aim for a crucial away win against Mali when the two sides square off in World Cup qualifiers next month.

Mali will host Rwanda in Agadir, Morocco, on September 1 before the latter play Kenya on September 5 in Kigali.

The three countries, along with Uganda, make Group E in the second round of the Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifiers. Only the top side, after six match rounds, will progress to the third and final round.

In an interview, Niyonzima said the Mali encounter should be treated as a "must-win" to give Amavubi players the much-needed confidence going into the home game against Kenya.

"We need to beat Mali and then proceed to enhance preparations for the rest of the qualifiers campaign," said Niyonzima.

He added: "Overall we have players who can compete against the best teams on the continent, but trouble always comes in scoring goals. Hopefully, we can do better this time round."

Meanwhile, midfielder Djabel Manishimwe has been sidelined and will miss the two matches against Mali and Kenya, after testing positive for Covid-19 in camp.