The Rwanda National football team has intensified  preparations ahead of  the 2017 Africa Cup Nations final Group H qualifier against Ghana by moving their drills from an artificial turf in Kigali to a grass field in Amahoro, as the  technical staff "do not want to leave anything to chance."  

The Amavubi, ranked 121st in the latest release, aims for a win  in the September 3 clash  at the Accra Sports Stadium in a bid to breathe life into their recent poor FIFA  rankings.

The team will be hoping for a win against the Blackstars despite being out of   contention for a place in the 2017 Africa Nations’ Cup finals after blowing away  their chances to book a ticket to the tournament in Gabon when they  lost 1-0 to Mauritius in Belle Vue  in March before succumbing to a shock 3-2 loss to Mozambique in Kigali in June.

According to inside sources, the technical staff didn’t want to leave anything to chance, which is why they decided to have the team train on both artificial (Kigali stadium) and grass (Amahoro) pitches, just in case there is a change of venue in Ghana,a leading Rwandan daily, the New Times, reveals.

Newly appointed Amavubi interim assistant coach Mashami and some players take a break from training to poses for the cameras at Kigali Regional Stadium
Newly appointed Amavubi interim assistant coach Mashami and some players take a break from training to poses for the cameras at Kigali Regional Stadium

 

The team, working under the tutelage of interim head coach Jimmy Mulisa, his assistant Mashami Vincent, and new goalkeeping coach Thomas Higiro, has APR FC winger Innocent Habyarimana being the only addition to the provisional 26-man squad which was summoned last Sunday to enter residential camp at La Palisse Hotel in Nyandungu.

Black Stars manager Avram Grant has already  named his 23 man squad for the upcoming AFCON qualifier against the Amavubi with skipper Asamoah Gyan making a return to the team for the dud game, after shrugging off recent injury struggles. His deputy, Andre Ayew, misses out after injuring his thigh in his first game for his new side.

Ghana leads  Group H with 13 points, having already booked a place to the  tournament while Rwanda, despite those two defeats, remain in second place with six points, level with Mauritius, who will host bottom-placed Mozambique (4 points) on September 3.

By Abdul Malik/ghanaguardian.com