The national football team’s head coach, Vincent Mashami, has dropped three players as the team enters the final phase of preparations ahead of the first-leg clash against Cape Verde in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers next week. The dropped trio includes Police FC duo of midfielder Martin Fabrice Twizerimana and forward Justin Mico as well as Gasogi United striker Bertrand Iradukunda. It is expected that Amavubi will depart for the islands of Cape Verde on Sunday, November 8, three days before the November 11 crunch at Estádio Nacional de Cabo Verde. After the two sides’ first-leg, Rwanda will host the return-leg on November 17 in Kigali. Rwanda and Cape Verde make Group F – along with Cameroon and Mozambique – in the ongoing qualifiers for the 2021 AFCON finals tournament, which has been moved to early 2022 due to the coronavirus pandemic. After two match rounds, Mashami’s Amavubi are without a point after losing their first two matches; 2-0 away to Mozambique and 1-0 to Cameroon in Kigali. Centre-back Abdul Rwatubyaye, one of the foreign-based players who have been called up for the national duty, acknowledges that it will be a difficult match because players have been out of action for long but the team is motivated and will be looking for a positive result. “It will be challenging because of the Covid-19 layoff, but we have been working hard in training and the motivation is high. We can win in Cape Verde, but we will need to be mentally strong and make the best of every chance,” said Rwatubyaye, a defender for American side Colorado Switchbacks. Besides Rwatubyaye, other foreign-based players in Amavubi camp include Tanzania’s Simba SC striker Meddie Kagere and Greece-based Steve Rubanguka. Armenia-based Salomon Nirisarike has been ruled out after contracting Covid-19 last week.
