By Peter Kamasa in Rwanda,
Rwanda national team, Amavubi will start residential training camp on Monday ahead of the opening 2019 CAF Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Central Africa Republic scheduled for June 11 in Bangui.
The provisional squad of 25 players convened on Sunday evening at Golden Tulip Hotel in Nyamata and will begin intensive training on today at Amahoro National Stadium under the close guidance of head coach Antoine Hey and his assistant Vincent Mashami.
“When you are preparing this kind of games, you are going to look for every scenario needed to get points. We need different types of players and also try different styles of play, which calls players with a fighting spirit,” Hey said.
he German added “Because of the nature of the opposition, we needed quick players. We selected players who we thought are capable of giving what we need to try to accomplish our mission of getting a good result away from home.”
Rwanda is in Group H for AFCON 2019 along with Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea and Central African Republic.
The winner of each group, alongside the best three second-placed teams, will qualify for the tournament and hosts Cameroon will be part of the qualifiers.
The squad includes new faces such as right-back Eric Iradukunda, from AS Kigali, and Gilbert Mugisha from relegated side Pepiniere FC, while veteran defender Aimable Rucogoza (Bugesera FC) makes a shock return to the Amavubi fold after many years in the cold.
The coach summoned nine professional players, including skipper Haruna Niyonzima (Yanga, Tanzania), midfielder Jean Baptiste Mugiraneza and striker Jacques Tuyisenge (Gor Mahia, Kenya), defenders Salomon Nirisarike (AFC Tubize, Belgium), and Emery Bayisenge (KAC Kénitra, Morocco).
