Neither Rwanda nor Mali can afford to lose

Group HSundayRwanda vs MaliTuesdayAlgeria vs BeninWhen the draws for the second round qualifying for the Fifa World Cup 2014 in Brazil were made, few coaches of the bigger teams could complain much about their respective groupings.In Group H is Rwanda, Mali, Algeria and Benin where on paper and Fifa world rankings, the Mali Eagles are the big dog, while Algeria and Benin are not so far behind—Rwanda’s Amavubi Stars are the genuine underdogs. After the draws were announced, Mali coach Alain Giresse, told Fifa.com, “The draw was kind on us because we managed to avoid the big names. Even so, there’s only one place available and we can’t afford any slip-ups.”Having finished third at the last two Africa Cup of Nations finals, no one could blame the Frenchman for being optimistic that Brazil could be Mali’s time to break the World Cup finals’ duck.Mali have won one against Algeria and lost in the other to Benin of their two world cup qualifiers, leaving them in third place, level on points with second-placed Algeria, and two better than their next opponents Rwanda on Sunday at Amahoro Stadium. So, if it’s avoiding slip-ups that Giresse wished for, then his team need to do more than just show up in the remaining four fixtures if they are to be in the pot when the draws for the third and final qualifying round are being made.Defeat to Benin alone was big a slip-up for the Mali Eagles, and if they are to live up to their billing as the group favourites, they can’t afford any more blemishes in their campaign, starting on Sunday when they take on the unpredictable Amavubi. Micho antics don’t help his causeRwanda coach Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic, while reacting to the draws said, “I’m ready for the challenge and to take Rwanda to a new level. The key thing is to make the most of our strengths and put everything we have into it. We’ll just have to wait and see if that’s enough for us to spring a surprise.”The catchwords in this quote are, “make the most of our strength” and “to spring a surprise”. However, with Rwanda’s chances of springing a surprise in this group, very slim or even next to none after just two qualifiers, we don’t have to wait much longer to realise the inevitable.And also, when the Serb, whose days as Amavubi coach are becoming fewer by every defeat his team suffers, says that he wants to “make the most of our strength”.But I am not sure if he actually knows what exactly his team’s strength is.If you’re a coach and your team not only can’t score, defend properly for 90 minutes or even dominate any opposing midfield, you know something is terribly wrong somewhere, and if it adds to the fact that you can’t find a solution to that crisis, then you must accept you don’t know what you’re doing.Micho was a good club coach, an ambitious one for that matter, but with Amavubi, he has failed to realise his potential as a national team manager as his record suggests.His knows as a good motivator of players but his tactical knowhow remains suspect—his antics some times are not very professional and don’t fit a man of his status.Everyone is well aware of the intense pressure the Serb is under, coming into Sunday’s clash with Mali, and especially after the 1-0 loss to Libya in an international friendly on Wednesday.Nonetheless, his reaction after his team conceded a 90th minute goal, left so much to be desired and if he gets the chance to look at the replays, he should be ashamed of himself—he let not only himself but also his players down.No one wants to lose, particularly to a late minute goal, but to kick chairs, water bottles and throw yourself on the ground like a man possessed with supernatural spirits, is utterly unacceptable whatsoever.The team needs cool heads going into Sunday’s big game, but you wonder how the coach can start telling his players to stay calm and concentrated for a full 90 minutes, yet he himself is doing exactly the opposite when the going gets tough?Micho has now put himself under more scrutiny than he probably wished for, and if for the obvious reasons, he doesn’t get a result against Mali, his reign would be in real danger.But in the meantime, Go Amavubi.