‘We have chance’

Tucak speaks out on Amavubi CAN 2010 chances AMAVUBI Stars head coach Branko Tucak is confident about Rwanda’s chances of reaching the 2010 African Cup of Nations finals due in Luanda, Angola. In a rare exclusive interview with Times Sport yesterday, the Croatian-born coach said that he is delighted with his team’s position and that he believes they have high chances of qualifying for the finals in Angola. “It will not be an easy task to qualify for Angola but we have to wait until after the draws on October 22 to know our opponents in the next round before making tangible predictions,” Tucak admitted. He added, “We are anxious to know who will be our opponents and this will help us to plan our preparations accordingly.” The Croat took his time to congratulate his players for their remarkable performances in the previous round in which Rwanda won four and lost just once in five qualifiers before Ethiopia was excluded from the campaign by Fifa due to their government interference in football administrative matters. “It was not easy for Amavubi Stars to reach the next qualifying round and I must congratulate the players and the federation people (Ferwafa) as they were the main force behind our success,” Tucak continued before emphasizing that more concentration is needed to enable Rwanda qualify CAN final. Amavubi Stars will know their third and final round opponents on October 22 when the draws will be made at Fifa headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland. The final phase kicks off in March and Rwanda knows too well there will be nowhere to hide as they come against some of the continent’s giants. The draw will determine five groups of four teams to contest the five available slots for the World Cup in South Africa. Africa’s big guns Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Cameroon have been seeded first while Rwanda is seeded fourth. For the first time of World Cup history, Africa will have six representatives as South Africa have already qualified by virtue of being the hosts in 2010 The group winners proceed to the quadrennial showpiece, while the top three finishers in respective groups will qualify for the Nations Cup. Ends

Lifestyle

‘We have chance’