Rwanda women U20 head coach Andre Casa Mbungo has called on his players to be more clinical in front of goal if they are to eliminate Zimbabwe from the U20 Women’s World Cup 2026 qualifiers. Zimbabwe welcome Rwanda in the second leg of the World Cup qualifying first round on Wednesday, May 14, at Kigali Pelé Stadium. Rwanda won 2-1 in the first leg on the same ground on May 11 and Mbungo has urged his players to make good use of their chances ahead of the second leg to avoid an early elimination. READ: Rwanda to face Zimbabwe in u20 womens world cup qualifiers “The girls did well in the first leg but it was not enough and we have to be ready for the second leg, we need 100% of concentration in front of the opponent’s goal which can give us chance to reach to the second round,” Casa Mbungo said. “We are playing against a good team so we have to be wise enough in defense and use the chances we will get upfront.” “We had a perfect first leg and created many goal scoring chances, we scored two goals and failed to convert others but we are focusing now on the second leg...we want to qualify,” he noted The qualification will be played in four knockout rounds. After the third round, eight teams will advance into the fourth round before they eventually make it to the final round where the best two teams will qualify to represent Africa at the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland. The winner between Rwanda and Zimbabwe will face Nigeria in the second round. During the qualifiers in 2021, Rwanda was eliminated in the second round following a humiliating 8-0 loss at the hands of Ethiopia over two legs. The tournament, scheduled for August 2026, will feature 24 nations, including four representatives from Africa.
