Rwanda will lock horns with Libya as well as Nigeria and Benin who are gradually becoming familiar foes for Amavubi in Group D of the 2025 AFCON qualifiers which begin in September. Rwanda will be aiming to qualify for Africa's biggest soccer fiesta for the second time in 21 years. Their first and only appearance was in Tunisia in 2004 where they qualified ahead of much fancied Ghana and Uganda. There are many scores to settle in Group D. Rwanda and Benin were in the same AFCON qualifying Group for the 2023 edition in Cote D'Ivoire, both teams are also pooled in the same group in the 2026 World Cup Africa zone qualifiers alongside Nigeria. This makes the whole situation very tricky as coach Frank Spittler argued. Football defies logic, football is unpredictable as you can hardly foresee what will happen in a game. No one ever thought that Amavubi, a team which had not won a single competitive game for two and half years, would be at the top of the World Cup qualifying group that also comprises African giants comprising of Nigeria and South Africa as well as Benin, Lesotho and Zimbabwe after four round of games. Now, you underestimate Amavubi at your own peril as Spittler is gradually building the team with all means he has at his disposal. The 2025 AFCON qualifiers are very compact, the fixtures will be played in a short period of time, from September 2 to November 15, and you will need to be at your best before you can grab one of the two tickets for the tournament in Morocco. Aside Nigeria who are the firm favorites in Group D despite their recent abysmal performance, the three other countries are almost at par and each of them stands a chance to qualify. In terms of player quality, Benin have a host of foreign players who play at better clubs and leagues than Rwandan players. They include skipper Steve Mounie who recently signed for German Bundesliga side Augsburg, Junior Olaitan and a host of others. Amavubi will, on the other side, rely on their cracked back four namely left-back Emmanuel Imanishimwe, right-back Omborenga Fitina and the central defensive pair of Ange Mutsinzi and Thierry Manzi before goalkeeper Fiacre Ntwari. The defensive quartet has conceded just one goal in four games so far in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, which is the best so far on the continent. If they are able to maintain that in the AFCON qualifiers, Rwanda will be a team to watch. Moreover, Amavubi’s confidence looks as high as ever based on their recent performances and that is a big advantage going into the 2025 AFCON qualifiers. They should just keep the momentum and continue to believe that they can do it. Undoubtedly, what Rwanda needs now is squad in-depth. More players of Rwandan origin in the diaspora should be invited to make the team much stronger. Amavubi has benefited from Jojea Kwizera and more players in the diaspora like him are needed to beef up the squad. Again, Spittler will have an opportunity to scout more players based on their performances in the 2024/25 Primus National League which kicks off in August, just weeks before the 2025 AFCON qualifiers begin. Rwanda will begin their AFCON 2025 qualifying campaign in Tripoli where they will visit Libya on September 2 before hosting the Super Eagles on September 10. Amavubi should get at least four points from those two games to kick-start their campaign on a bright note. Group D is very dicey. Aside AFCON 2023 finalists Nigeria, other teams have equal chances to qualify. A good start is all that Spittler and his men need to make the dream of their second AFCON qualification a reality. Rwanda’s AFCON 2025 qualifiers fixtures Between September 2 and September 10 Libya vs Rwanda Rwanda vs Nigeria Between October 07 and October 15 Benin vs Rwanda Rwanda vs Benin Between November 11 and November 19 Rwanda vs Libya Nigeria vs Rwanda
