McKinstry to assess new players in friendly games

Today Burkina Faso vs Rwanda 5pm Sunday Tunisia U-23 vs Rwanda Amavubi Stars coach Johnny McKinstry will use the friendly matches against Burkina Faso and Tunisia to assess the level of the new players. Rwanda will play against Burkina Faso today before taking on Tunisia’s Olympic team on Sunday in Rabat, Morocco. Amavubi have been in Morocco since Monday for a 10-day training camp to prepare for the 2016 Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) and the 2018 World Cup qualifiers against Libya. The 2018 World Cup qualifiers will be played within the November 7-19 timeline where Amavubi will be keen to register a positive result in the first leg against Libya in Tunisia. The game was moved to Tunisia because of the political instability in Libya, and the second leg will be hosted in Kigali. McKinstry said, “We are going into a very demanding period between November and the time when we host next year’s CHAN tournament, so we want to use these matches to assess the new players who are coming in as we try to build a strong team.” The new faces on the 23-man Amavubi squad in Morocco include; APR’s 20-year-old central defender, Abdoul Rwatubyaye on his first call-up to the senior team, Police attacking midfielder Hegman Ngomirakiza, 24, who is receiving his first call since 2011 and AS Kigali forward Rodriguez. The friendly against Tunisia Olympic team comes after Equatorial Guinea backtracked on their earlier commitment to play Rwanda on October 13. “All these matches are to prepare locally based players ahead of CHAN 2016 which will be hosted in Rwanda from January 16-February 7 next year,” McKinstry added. Ngomirakiza last featured for Amavubi in June 2011 during the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Burundi in Bujumbura. After the return game against Libya, Amavubi will compete in the CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup that will be staged in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from November 27 to December 12 before they return home to continue preparations ahead of CHAN 2016 finals tournament. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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McKinstry to assess new players in friendly games