Friday

Ethiopia vs Rwanda (Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium, 3 pm)

Rwanda's national football team head coach, Carlos Alòs, has hailed his players’ attitude after their first four training sessions ahead of the upcoming two-legged tie against Ethiopia in the African Nations Championship (CHAN) qualifiers.

Rwanda's Amavubi (Wasps) face Ethiopia in the first leg on Saturday, August 26, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, at the Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium before they host the decisive encounter on September 3, at home, in Huye Stadium.

Rwanda left Kigali for Tanzania on Wednesday at 12:00 on a RwandAir flight.

Alòs said that the players responded well to his tactics and expectations.

"The boys are giving everything they have and this has been the case from the day they started the training camp. They work very hard and I believe their hard work will pay off. I expect nothing less than doing well in the first leg,” Alòs said.

His squad held a training session at the Kigali regional stadium, in Kigali, on Tuesday.

Rwanda has won four games against Ethiopia, drawn five, and lost five in all competitions since April 26, 1981.

Rwanda will face Walia Ibex for a spot at the finals in Algeria in another double-legged round. The Rwandan national team will have a slight advantage over Ethiopia.

"The players [remarkably] looked in shape and responded well to the first-day training. We have a set of players ready for the task; we try to take it game by game, starting with the first leg,” he added.

Rwanda has played in four CHAN finals, and twice (2016 and 2021) reached the quarter-finals, out of seven editions of the competition since 2009.

The country hopes to make its fifth appearance in Africa’s second biggest international tournament, which is reserved for only players featuring in their respective domestic leagues.

Algeria will organize the eighth edition from January 8 to January 31, 2023.