Mitali’s rallying call to fans

World Cup qualification SaturdayAlgeria 4 - 0 RwandaIvory Coast 2 - 0 TanzaniaSudan 2 - 0 ZambiaCameroon 1 - 0 Congo DRSports and Culture Minister Protais Mitali has urged football fans not to further dampen Amavubi players’ morale with negative comments after the 4-0 loss to Algeria in the group H match of the 2014 Fifa World Cup qualifier on Saturday.The Wasps return tomorrow evening and will head straight for residential camp at La Pallise Hotel to continue preparations for the next World Cup qualifier against Benin on Sunday in Kigali.But with morale down after the big defeat, Mitali is calling upon football fans to turn up in large numbers at the weekend and support the national team, which has lost three and drawn one of the last four matches, conceding 12 goals and scoring just two in the process.“It is unfortunate that the team got off to a bad start but in any match, there is always a winner and loser. I would like to call upon all Rwandans to come in large numbers and give support to the national team.We should not castigate the players or the coaching staff but give them support as they prepare for their next match against Benin,” Mitali told Times Sport yesterday.Amavubi’s loss to Algeria was not surprising considering that their build up to the match was loaded with losses to Tunisia (5-1)and Libya (2-0), and a dull 1-1 draw against Chad.The task does not get any easier as the wasps prepare to take on a Benin side that beat them 3-0 last year and posses players like Stephane Sessegnon, who plays with Barclays Premiership club Sunderland. Rwanda will then travel to Nigeria to the play the Super Eagles in the return leg of the 2013 African Nations’ Cup qualifier. The two sides drew 0-0 in the first leg in March.The 4-0 loss is the first big defeat for coach Milutin Sredojevic in a competitive match since taking charge last October.The Serb tactician, who has coached on the African continental for over 11 years, will now be under more pressure as Amavubi prepare for two difficult games against Benin and Nigeria.