Feb. 24 Cameroon vs Rwanda

RWANDA national football team head coach, Vincent Mashami, has insisted that his men are optimistic to battle for a positive result when they face Cameroon in friendly match next week.

The team departs for Cameroon on Friday morning.

The game, due February 24 in Yaoundé, is one of the two international friendly matches on the line-up for Amavubi as part of their preparations for the 2020 African Nations Championships (CHAN) finals tournament – also to be held in Cameroon, from April 4 to 25.

After the Cameroon crunch, Mashami’s side will host Congo-Brazzaville in their second friendly on Friday, February 28, in Kigali.

In an interview on Thursday, Mashami told Times Sport that all the players had a good fitness level as they joined the camp fresh from a busy schedule in the Rwanda Premier League and Peace Cup.

"I have no doubt about the players’ fitness, they all joined the national team camp from a busy calendar in the league and Peace Cup,” said Mashami. "We just needed a few days to work on game automatism and tactical play before flying to Cameroon.”

Amavubi, who saw off Ethiopia last October to qualify for this year’s finals, will be making their third consecutive appearance in Africa’s second-biggest football event, having hosted the 2016 edition before playing the 2018 tournament in Morocco.

"We trained from Monday to Thursday, and I was impressed. I am confident that any player can deliver positive results. The friendly matches will give us a good picture of where we stand and what needs to be improved ahead of the CHAN finals.”

At this year’s showpiece, Rwanda has been drawn in Group C against regional rivals Uganda, heavyweights Morocco and debutants Togo.