Amavubi arrive in CHAN city ahead of Nigeria clash

Monday Group C Fixtures MondayRwanda Vs Nigeria 9:30pm Jan. 19Rwanda Vs Eq. Guinea 9:30pm Jan. 23Rwanda Vs Libya 9pm The national football team, Amavubi have arrived in the Moroccan city of Tangier, which will be their base throughout the group stage round of the 2018 Africa Nations Championships (CHAN) finals. The 2018 CHAN tournament, which is reserved for players who feature in their respective domestic leagues across Africa, will run from January 13 to February 4 in Morocco. Tangier is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is located on the Maghreb coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. Antoine Hey’s team will play their group C opener against Nigeria on Monday at 21:30 (CAT). Rwanda is placed in Group C alongside 2014 champions Libya, Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea. After a ten-day training camp in Tunis, Tunisia, the Rwandan delegation arrived safely in Tangier Thursday afternoon—the team has been booked at Royal Tulip Hotel located in the heart of Tangier City. The team held their first training session in Tangier Friday evening and will have a double session on Saturday before training on Stade Grande de Tanger on Sunday, the venue for Monday’s game. Meanwhile, Rwanda’s Group C rivals, Libya also arrived in Tangier on Thursday and will be residing at Hilton Garden Inn. Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea were expected in Tangier on Saturday (today). On Thursday, Rwanda concluded a ten-day pre-CHAN training camp in Tunisia where they played three warm-up matches, drawing two and losing one. Amavubi played against Sudan (40 minutes) in a goalless draw before the game was stopped by the referee after a fist fight broke out between the two teams, and drew 1-1 with Namibia before losing 4-1 to Algeria on Wednesday at El Menzeh Stadium in Tunis. Rwanda made her second appearance as they hosted the 2016 edition, where they reached the quarter-finals before losing 1-2 in extra time to eventual champions, DR Congo. Head coach Hey has a big task to ensure the team recovers from the disappointing results in last three matches, especially the last one against Algieria, a side that won’t be in Morocco. The German coach, who took over from Northern Irishman, Johnny McKinstry, started his Amavubi career losing against Central African Republic 2-1 in AFCON 2019 Cameroon qualifiers. Hey went on to draw 1-1 against Tanzania in CHAN 2018 second qualification round first leg before drawing 0-0 at home in the second leg. Amavubi qualified to the third qualification round, losing 3-0 in the first leg against Uganda before winning the return leg 2-0 in Kigali but it was not enough to avoid elimination. However, Rwanda got a second chance to book the ticket to Morocco after Egypt, who had been invited to replace Kenya, withdrew from playing in the tournament. Rwanda went on to win away against Ethiopia 3-0 in the Play-off qualifier before drawing 0-0 at home in the second leg. Rwanda CHAN team defeated Sudan 2-1 in a friendly match. In the 2017 CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup, Hey’s team lost two games against the hosts Kenya and Zanzibar but drew goalless against Libya. Read full CHAN preview inside Saturday Sports Magazine. editorial@newtimes.co.rw