Busy day for Junior Wasps in Namibia

2013 AYC qualifyingTodayNamibia vs RwandaTunisia vs LibyaMorocco vs MauritaniaUganda vs MozambiqueNiger vs LiberiaTanzania vs SudanZimbabwe vs BotswanaRwanda’s U-20 team starts its road to the Orange African U-20 Championship this afternoon with a tricky encounter against Namibia at Sam Nujoma stadium. The finals will be held in Algeria next year.The Junior Wasps arrived in Windhoek on Thursday evening and the team had its first training at Sam Nujoma Stadium yesterday. Rwanda will rely on players that mainly featured in last year’s Fifa U-17 World Cup finals in Mexico. Rwanda is ranked among the top five in Africa at youth football level and have full international experience.Coach Richard Tardy said, “We aware of the huge task that awaits us in Saturday’s game but we must try to get a good result, which will put us in a good position going into the return leg in Kigali.”His opposite number of Namibia Ricardo Mannetti was quoted in the Namibian press saying, “Rwanda have promoted their FIFA Under 17 World Cup team of last year to this age group and have experience at this level but that does not scare us but motivates us to take them on and beat them.”He noted, “In Africa it is imperative that you have to play the first game at home and for us it is no different. We have a lot of guys that will be traveling for the first time and will be shell-shocked when we go to Rwanda and so it is ideal that we get the job done at home.”The return leg will take place in Kigali on the weekend of May 4-6.The Junior Wasps are hoping to eliminate Namibia and qualify for the finals tournament to be held in Algiers.If they maneuver their way past Namibia, they will face West African giants, Mali in July in the second round.Elsewhere, fourteen other teams will be in action as the early steps to see who will wrestle the crown currently in the hands of the Nigerians start across the continent. The top four teams in the Algeria finals will qualify for the finals of the World Cup Under-20 Championship scheduled for June, next year in Turkey.Probable squads:Rwanda: Olivier Kwizera, Michel Rusheshangoga, Salomon Nirisarike, Francois Hakizimana, Emery Bayisenge, Eric Nsabimana, Robert Ndatimana, Bonny Bayingana, Charles Mwesigye Tibingana, Kipson Atuheire and Emmanuel Sebanani.Namibia: Innocent Tembo, Edmund Kambanda, David Peterson, Henrico Hoabeb, Marcello Haraseb, Olaf Gaseb, Itamunua Keimuine, Edward Maova, Lebbeus Mwatilifa, Nathan Gideon and Jonas Sakaria.

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Busy day for Junior Wasps in Namibia