The national football team reported back to camp on Monday to resume preparations for next month’s tie against Cape Verde after a few days of break. The two teams make Group F along with Cameroon and Mozambique in the qualifiers for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AfCON), which has been moved to 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Seven players have been dropped from the 23-man squad that underwent the first phase of training. Five, including centre-back Emery Bayisenge, were left out because their fitness and form level did not impress head coach Vincent Mashami and his technical bench. Goalkeeper Yves Kimenyi and striker Ernest Sugira sustained injuries from the preliminary training camp. Others who were released are; Faustin Usengimana, Eric Iradukunda, Rachid Kalisa and Félix Ndekwe. However, the team in camp has been boosted by the arrival of APR’s 11 players who were not part of the first residential camp as the league champions had a conflicting training schedule at Shyorongi Stadium. Mashami also hopes to be joined by 10 foreign-based players before the first-leg encounter against Cape Verde on November 11 in Cape Verde before Rwanda hosts the return-leg on November 17. After two match rounds, Amavubi are bottom of Group F without a single point. Cameroon and Mozambique are joint leaders with 4 points each while Cape Verde are third with 2 points.
