Rwanda’s football team, Amavubi Stars, have previously beaten a North African opposition in the past but never before has the national team won in that part of the continent.On the back of three disappointing results in the build-up to today’s game against Algeria in the first qualifier for the 2014 World Cup, Amavubi and Rwandans, in general, will be hoping for a change in fortunes.The team lost to Libya and Tunisia before drawing with Chad in the three warm-up matches over the last 12 days during its training camp in Tunisia.Amavubi have been pitted against North African teams on no fewer than five occasions in either the Fifa World Cup or African Cup of Nations qualifiers, or both.Since facing Tunisia in the group stage match at the 2004 Nations Cup finals in Tunis, Rwanda has come up against Algeria (four times), Egypt (2) and Morocco (2) but on all those occasions, only once did Amavubi get a win and that was a 3-1 victory, against Morocco, at Stade de Kigali during the qualifying campaign for the 2010 World/Africa Cup qualifiers.Despite registering two other home draws against Algeria (2005 and 2009), the team has hitherto never been lucky in North Africa where it has lost all the corresponding fixtures.But can that change and Rwanda get what would be an historic win in that part of the continent, where not many opposing teams come away with anything. Yes this Amavubi crop can. All they need is belief. Go Amavubi.
