African Nations Championship Today Sudan v Rwanda Blanko Tucak faces an uphill task on his debut as Amavubi Stars coach when his team takes on Sudan in the first leg, first round of the Africa Nations Championship this evening in Khartoum. The intense rivalry between last year’s Cecafa senior challenge cup finalists has another installment today when the two sides face off. Rwanda goes into today’s fixture with an aim of posting a positive result which would increase their chances of reaching the finals before the return leg in two weeks’ time. Today’s match will be uncompromising and with a place in the final round of qualifiers at stake, a fiery encounter is expected in Khartoum. Former coach Josip Kuze failed to overcome Sudan in last year’s Cecafa Cup losing 2-4 on penalties after a 2-all draw. Yet a win for Tucak would be the sort of message for the Croat to prove to his bosses that he can bring back the lost pride of the Amavubi Stars. Its Atraco’s Manfred Kizito and Norway based striker Olivier Karekezi who converted the penalties while Ismael Nshutinamagara (Atraco) and Elias Ntaganda (APR) both missed the target. Abedi Mulenda and Haruna Niyonzima were Rwanda’s goal scorers in last year’s Cecafa Cup. With the inclusion of Jimmy Gatete and Honore Kabongo who missed the Cecafa Cup in the squad, Amavubi must leave no stone unturned to register a better performance this time. However, El Merreikh’s danger man Abd El Hamid Amarria who was last year’s Cecafa Cup top scorer with six goals has been named in the 23-man which has been lined up to face Rwanda. The winner of the two-leg fixture will progress and engage either Uganda or Tanzania in the final qualifier. Elsewhere, Ghana hosts Togo whose winner will face the victor of Nigeria’s tie with Burkina Faso. In Dakar, the Teranga Lions of Senegal will play as hosts of Mali while Mauritania square off Gambia on Saturday. Algeria will be hoping to make amends after missing out of the recent African Cup of Nations as they face Morocco. Cameroon take on Gabon as DR Congo play neighbors Congo. Libya and South Africa have qualified to the next round following the withdrawals of their opponents. The second leg matches has been scheduled for 16-18 May. Ivory Coast will host the maiden edition from the February next year. Ends
