ZONAL AFCON U-17 QUALIFIERS: Facing Tanzania is a final for us – Rwasamanzi

Rwanda’s U-17 coach Yves Rwasamanzi has said facing Tanzania in their opening Group B match of the Zonal Africa Cup of Nations U-17 qualifiers this afternoon is like playing in a final.

“We are in a very tricky group and we must treat every game like a final. I know Tanzania have a good team and we must treat them very seriously,” added the head coach.

The two teams were meant to face-off last Saturday at the same Umuganda Stadium in Rubavu, but the games were pushed forward following the disqualification of South Sudan after some of their players failed MRI tests.

Rwasamanzi made it clear that winning the opening match will give his team  motivation to do better in the next games. However, they will face a better prepared Tanzania U-17 side that has trained for a longer time.

After a resting day on Tuesday, action will return on Wednesday with two matches on card as the 2018 Cecafa U-17 champions face Kenya, and Djibouti line-up against Tanzania.

The last group games of the tournament will be played on Friday before the semi-finals on December 2oth and the climax on December 22^nd. The best two teams will qualify for the Afcon U-17 to take place in Morocco next year.