Despite not qualifying for the 2018 Championship of African Nations (CHAN), Rwanda Amavubi head coach Antoine Hey was delighted with the brave showing.
Hey registered his first win in a competitive match as Rwanda overcame traditional rivals Uganda Cranes 2-0 at the Stade De Kigali in Nyamirambo.
It was good to score two early goals, but we failed to add another.
We started very well but after 20 minutes, we somehow lost the enthusiasm and pressure to score more goals although we created so many good scoring chances throughout the 90 minutes, which we missed.
Despite the failure to qualify, the boys did a great job today. The amazing thing is that most of the players are still young and have long careers ahead of them, the future looks really bright for the team.
APR midfielder Yannick Mukunzi and Rayon Sports defender Thierry Manzi scored two quick goals for the home team to put pressure on the visitors.
Uganda Cranes held onto the the scoreline and were denied what looked like a clear penalty in the closing stages of the game when substitute Paul Mucureezi was brought down in the area.
With 15 countries already qualified, only one slot remains to be determined for the 16 finalists. Guinea hosts Senegal on Tuesday 22nd August 2017. The first leg ended 3-1 in favour of the Terenga Lions from Senegal in Dakar.
The final tournament will be hosted in Kenya between 11th January to 2nd February 2018.
Successful countries so far:
- Northern Zone: Libya, Morocco
- West Zone A & B: Mauritania, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso
- Central Zone: Equatorial Guinea, Congo, Cameroon
- Central East Zone: Kenya (Hosts), Uganda, Sudan
- Southern Zone: Angola, Zambia, Namibia
