Rwanda U-20 unlucky to lose against Egypt, says Bugingo

Rwanda U-20 side registered a historic 1-0 win away in Egypt, only to go out on post-match penalty shoot-outs 3-2 in the 2017 AFCON U-20 qualifiers return leg played on Friday night at Alexander International Stadium in Cairo. Sunrise FC forward Vedaste Niyibizi scored the only goal of the game in the 85th minute which came from an error by Egypt’s goalkeeper and a failed clearance from the defense. The victory away from home gave Rwanda an advantage to secure a 1-1 goal aggregate, which led the winner to be decided by penalty shoot-outs. Jean Baptiste Kayiranga’s team went into the return leg with a 1-0 deficit from the first leg played two weeks ago in Kigali. Skippers Savio Dominique Nshuti, Blaise Itangishaka and Amani Niyonkuru missed the three penalties for Rwanda, while Abbedy Biramahire and Arafat Sibomana scored the two spot-kicks for the Junior Wasps. On the other hand, the Pharaohs missed just two penalty kicks before Al Ahly player Ramadan Sobhy scored the final penalty kick that won Egypt the match. Even though they lost, Emmanuel Bugingo, the director of sports in the Ministry of Sports and Culture, said, “Our the team played well to win away from home, which is not easy, especially against Egypt. They promised that they would beat Egypt and they did it. They were just unlucky to lose on penalties.” “The youngsters have showed that they have the potential to perform better in the future, having prepared for a shorter period ahead of the trip to Egypt,” he noted. Rwanda qualified to face Egypt after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) disqualified Uganda for fielding an ineligible player. Bugingo further added, “The next step is to keep the team together, and we shall engage them in more friendly games so that they become prepared to maintain that spirit in the future.” The team is expected to return in the country later this evening. Egypt‘s U-20 team progress to the third and final round and will face the winner between Angola and Gabon to determine the 2017 U-20 AFCON finalists, from which the final four teams will automatically progress to the 2017 U-20 World Cup in South Korea. editorial@newtimes.co.rw