Focus on Mexico

RWANDA’s U-17 side- the Junior Wasps, regroup this afternoon ahead of the Fifa U-17 World Cup slated for June 18-July 10 in Mexico.Head Coach Richard Tardy told Times Sport yesterday that he would begin with 23 players.“We start training tomorrow (today) and I expect about 23 players to show up,” Tardy said. The team will relocate to Europe in April before flying to Latin America in May for another training camp en-route to Mexico for the global showpiece. “If we adhere to our preparation plan, we should be in perfect shape for the World Cup,” Tardy, who has on holiday in France, added. The tactician became a fans’ favourite after guiding the team to the World Cup during January’s Caf U-17 Africa Nations Championship in Rwanda. With the top two from the two groups assured of qualification, Rwanda made no mistake as they finished second in Group A.The team went on to beat Ivory Coast (1-0) in the semi-finals before falling to Burkina Faso 1-2 in the final. On top of the 23 summoned players, Tardy is also expected to beef up his squad with a couple of foreign based players.Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Congo Brazzaville are the other African teams in the global showpiece. Elsewhere, USA needed extra-time to see off a stubborn Canadian side in the final of the CONCACAF U-17 tournament.Both sides had already secured their tickets by reaching the semi-finals. Panama and Jamaica are also qualified. Ends

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Focus on Mexico