Rwanda will look to bounce back in Group E of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers when they host Kenya in Kigali on Sunday afternoon. The match will be staged at Stade Regional Nyamirambo, kick-off at 13h00 GMT.
The Amavubi’s group stage campaign got off to a losing start on Thursday when they were beaten 1-0 by Mali in Agadir, with Adama Traore scoring the all-important goal for the Eagles.
The Kenyans also had a less-than-perfect start to Group E, as they missed a couple of chances in their 0-0 draw at home to Uganda in Nairobi.
Vincent Mashami, the Rwanda coach, is confident that his side can secure a win against Kenya on Sunday inorder to get their campaign back on track.
“Winning against Kenya will give us more chances, and we have started planning how we can win this game,” said Mashami.
“We have to work 10 times harder than we did against Mali in order to win this game and am sure my side can do better,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Kenya coach Jacob Mulee expressed his belief that the East Africans can reach the World Cup in Qatar 2022, but their home draw with Uganda was a blow to their hopes.
“We managed to get at least one point and we hope to reap maximum points from our match against Rwanda,” said Mulee.
“We have emerged from the match with a lot of positives but there are also some negatives we need to address,” he added.
In preparation for this clash, Mulee will be looking to the likes of Richard Odada, Michael Olunga, Masud Juma and Henry Meja.
Odada, who impressed in the game against Uganda, expressed optimism in his teammates on attaining a positive result against Rwanda.
“We got a goalless draw at home, and it was not the result we had hoped to attain as a team, but we are working on our weak points and hope to nick all the three points against Rwanda,” said Odada.
Rwanda and Kenya have met four times in recent years and Harambee Stars have a better record as they have managed three wins with the other game ending in a draw.
Both nations last met 2017 during the CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup held in Kenya where Harambee Stars secured a 2-0 win at Bukhungu Stadium.
