The Rwandan national U-23 team pulled a masterstroke on Tuesday afternoon as they overturned a 4-1 deficit to beat Libya 3-0 in Huye to qualify for the second round of the preliminary stages of the 2023 AFCON U-23 qualifiers. It was a great performance by the team as they completely outplayed the North Africans in the epic first round game. Times Sport takes a look at five things we learnt from the game. Niyigena’s Leadership qualities were exceptional What a performance from the APR defender! Niyigena was solid in the heart of defense for 90 minutes. He defended gallantly, organised and controlled his colleagues at the back so well and popped up front with two fantastic goals. Niyigena virtually won the day for Rwanda as skipper of the side. Rwanda played as a unit From the first minute of the game to the end, Rwanda played as a collective unit. There was no individualistic play as everyone gave his best. There was also great telepathy and this was best displayed whenever Niyigena moved forward and was always covered in his position. Playing as a unit helped Rwanda cover all spaces and the Libyans had no room to operate. Libya’ wing play was cut off The technical team of the Rwanda U-23 needs to be commended as they played a system which worked to perfection. They cut the Libyans from using the wings and forced them to play through the middle which the North Africans were not good at. Samuel Nsengiyumva was outstanding at right-back One of the outstanding players on the day, Nsengiyumva made the right side of the Rwandan defense a no go area for the Libyans. He put the brakes on them and was able to make them abandon their wing play and move to the middle which helped Rwanda to out power then. Nsengiyumva on a couple of times also made surging runs on the flanks to deliver crosses into the Libyan vital area. Home fans made a difference On a rainy afternoon in Huye, the fans were still in their numbers cheering the Rwanda U-23 team to victory. The support from the fans from the start of the game to the end propelled the players who gave all their best. The fans kept chanting throughout the encounter and the enormous support was a catalyst for the Rwandan team to have self-belief and execute the job perfectly.
