Ntwari insists Rwanda showed Nigeria how ‘big’ they are
Wednesday, September 11, 2024
Amavubi goalkeeper Fiacre Ntwari after a goalless draw against Nigeria. Photos by Olivier Mugwiza

Amavubi goalkeeper Fiacre Ntwari has said that his teammates have shown the Super Eagles what they are capable of after the pair were tied to a goalless draw during Tuesday’s 2025 AFCON Group D qualifiers at Amahoro Stadium.

With a pool of hot talents that traveled to Kigali, Nigeria came into the game as hot favorites to get easy three points that the Kaizer Chiefs new keeper was in his elements as he saved his side on numerous occasions with great stops to deny the likes of Ademola Lookman, Moses Simon, Victor Osimhen and Victor Boniface from scoring.

"We’re now big players who are now playing in Europe and other big leagues, so the only goal we can have is to win many matches. This game was very competitive against Nigeria, but this draw is a good result and we should motivate ourselves to do better.” Ntwali said

"We’ve got good squad ready to do better. I think all of players are ready for every game ahead and that performance against Nigeria will give us more confidence and self-belief that we can actually go on to win matches,” the former AS Kigali goalkeeper added.

Amavubi were playing their first international match at renovated Amahoro Stadium since January 6, 2022 when they lost 2-0 against Guinea in a friendly match.

But it was Ntwari’s first match since he became Amavubi number one goalkeeper. While he was eager to impress on his debut international appearance at the ultra-modern facility, he revealed that his performance was also motivated by President Paul Kagame’s return to local football eight years since he last attend Amavubi’s home game.

"It was my first game at Amahoro Stadium so I didn’t want to lose that game, everyone in us want to prove that we have improved and our coach is helping us a lot” Ntwali noted

"To know that our president is coming was also another motivation for us. We want to build from there and we believe this is start, the best are yet to come” he added

Rwanda now sit third in Group D with 2 points from two games. They trail table leaders Nigeria (4points) and Benin (3points) who beat Libya 2-1 on Tuesday.

Frank Spittler’s side will travel to Abidjan to face Benin when the qualifiers resume in October.