2010 WC/Africa qualifiers

June 8

Ethiopia     v    Rwanda

Mauritania  v    Morocco

If Tuesday’s Amavubi team training session had anything to predict about this weekend’s 2010 World/Africa Cup qualifier against Ethiopia, then Tucak Blanko must sharpen his only goal poachers before time runs out or else return back to Kigali without any point.

Amavubi team have excelled in defending as well as midfield but the striking force which is composed of five to seven strikers has still a long way to prove their presence.

In Tuesday’s training session, the strike partnership of Abedi Mulenda and Bobo Bola as well as Abedi Makasi Saidi’s combination with Bokota Labama proved to be in the race against time in the bid to sharpen up for the weekend game.

It’s only the midfielders Mafisango Mutesa, Jabo Mutsinzi, Fritz Emeran Nkusi, Olivier Karekezi, Jean Claude Iranzi and Jean Baptista Mugiraneza who looked shape in front of goal where the partnership and Abedi Mulenda and Bobo Bola looked out of sorts.

However, the strikers should be in the dock for their bluntness also coach Blanko another man who should take responsibility for not sharpening his strikers in crucial periods like these.

Blanko has not taken a single day off to lecture his strikers’ better methods of penetrating and scoring goals and this will hinder the 2010 African Nations qualifying campaign.

Since Jimmy Gatete was not summoned for national duty due to his lukewarm performances recently, none of the available strikers looks set to dethrone the goal getter in the near future to salvage the declining Amavubi striking force.

Gatete remains the sole striker who creates goals out of nothing and his strikes have been recorded as some of the most important in Rwandan football history.

However, the Croat remains confident that with the presence of Karekezi playing behind the two strikers in the 3-4-3 formation, his side stands a chance of popping up with the goods in this campaign.

Meanwhile, Jean Claude Iranzi’s may win himself a place in the 18-man squad which head to Ethiopia for the Walya Antelopes fixture.

Iranzi has stepped up his fight for the place on the team basing on his performances during the drills before the Croat names his final eighteen for the game against Ethiopia on Sunday.     

Blanko is left with only two days to assemble the squad which will he trusts to conquer the Ethiopians come Sunday.

Ethiopia which last defeated Rwanda 1-0 in the 2005 Cecafa Cup finals lost 0-3 to Morocco as Rwanda overcame Mauritania 3-0 in Group Eight’s qualifying opener.

Ends