Saturday, October, 22

Rwanda U23 vs Mali U23 (Huye Stadium, 3:00)

RWANDA’s U23 national team is in a good mood ahead of the first-leg clash against Mali in the first-round qualifiers of the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations to be played on Saturday, October 22.

Amavubi will host Mali in the first leg at Huye Stadium, in Huye District, before traveling to Bamako for the decisive encounter a week later.

The Amavubi U23 side has never reached the final stages of the continent’s biggest youth competition and will be seeking to put up a good performance ahead of the return leg encounter scheduled for October 29, in Mali.

Ahead of Saturday's game, head coach Yves Rwasamanzi stressed that: "This game is big for us and we are taking it very seriously. We want a big win in the first leg by all means. The mood in the camp is excellent and players are determined to get the job done here.”

To qualify for the second round, Rwanda beat Libya 3-0 in the second leg at Huye Stadium, after losing 4-1 in the first leg in Libya.

Rwanda advanced to the second round due to the away goal they scored in the first leg in Libya.

"We have a couple of good players in the team so we have been working on different formations to win the game. We have the core of the team with a lot of young talented players, who can make a difference,” Rwasamanzi noted.

The eventual winner will qualify for the U23 African Cup of Nations.

For Rwasamanzi, this qualifier is a tricky test. Picking a win at home will require them to use all they have in the tank while a defeat will be another setback, having lost the opening AFCON game.

The other big worry is the midfield department which will need some to be careful to avoid a gamble, especially since the team has not been tested in any competitive warm-up games.

Meanwhile, Mali jetted into the country on Wednesday and they trained at Kamena Stadium on Thursday. On Friday, they trained at Huye Stadium.

Among Mali’s 23 players are three who play in France including goalkeeper Lassine Diarra (Châteauroux), the defender of Troyes, Lassine Soumaoro, and the striker of Reims, Thiemoko Diarra and midfielder Abdourhamane Alassane Touré of CS Sfaxien in Tunisia.

The winner of the Rwanda vs Mali game over two legs qualifies for the 2023 U23 AFCON in Morocco.

Four nations from the tournament will make it to the 2024 Olympic Games men's football competition in Paris.