Tuesday, October 15

Rwanda vs Benin

Venue: Amahoro Stadium, Kigali

Time: 6:00 pm CAT

Rwanda host Benin at Amahoro National Stadium on Tuesday, October 15, in crunch clash that could either end Rwanda’s hopes of a 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification or keep them in the race for the ticket to the finals in Morocco.

The match between the two Group D rivals kicks off at 6pm Kigali Time.

Having lost 3-0 to Benin in Abidjan last Friday, Amavubi will be aiming to bounce back and secure their first win of the qualifying campaign against a team they have not defeated since 2012.

ALSO READ: AFCON Qualifiers: Rohr wary of Amavubi threat

Rwanda have now gone 10 AFCON qualifying games without a win, having lost 3 times and drawn 7. Their last victory came on March 24, 2021 when they beat Mozambique 1-0 courtesy Lague Byiringiro’s second half strike.

For Benin, head coach Gernot Rohr started the AFCON 2025 qualifying campaign on a poor note when they suffered a shock 3-0 humiliation at the hands of neighbours Nigeria in Oyo. They, however, quickly recovered to win back to back games against Libya and Rwanda to keep their qualification hopes alive.

Frank Spittler’s Amavubi badly need the three maximum points in Kigali while a different result would effectively put them on the brink of missing out on ticket to the AFCON finals for the second time in 20 years.

The German coach could make some changes in his starting lineup, with centre back Thierry Manzi now likely to miss the game through injury.

Meanwhile, Gernot Rohr may stick to his same first 11 that put three past Rwanda in Abidjan on October 11.

Rwanda are third in the group with 2 points, four points behind second-placed Benin and five behind leaders Nigeria.

Form guide

Rwanda form (all competitions): WLWDDL

Benin form (all competitions): LWWLWW