Rwanda failed to reap big from their recent Group C matches of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers as Tuesday’s 1-1 draw against Lesotho summed up an unimpressive performance that they endured before their home supporters in Kigali.
The result came three days after Amavubi had lost 2-0 to the Super Eagles of Nigeria at the same venue on March 21.
The two rounds of matches saw Rwanda drop to second place with 8 points, losing the top spot to current Group C leaders South Africa who won both games against Lesotho and Benin to go five points clear.
Times Sport takes a look at five things which cost Amavubi during Adel Amrouche’s first two matches since his appointment as Rwanda head coach.
Inadequate preparation
Previously, Amavubi had at least 11 days to prepare for international games. During the Frank Spittler era, he started camping with the local players and foreign-based players would join later. Additionally, they would play friendly matches and it was helping the team perform well.
Ironically, prior to their two important home matches against Nigeria and Lesotho, Amavubi had just five days of camping which wasn’t enough for them to prepare for the crucial matches.
Had it been under Spittler, there would be no qualms as he knew the team already. But the fact that Adel Amrouche and his entire backroom staff are new to the posts didn’t work in their favour. They needed more than just five days to be abreast with the players’ strengths and weaknesses ahead of the two crucial games.
Poor selection and substitutions
Amavubi’s problems are in sequence and one automatically leads to another. Poor selection cost Rwanda against Nigeria as players like Samuel Gueulette were played out of position and Hakim Sahabo should not have also started considering that he had not been selected in the national team since June 2024.
Amrouche made a change in the 35th minute by bringing in Gilbert Mugisha for Gueulette as Kevin Muhire replaced Sahabo early in the second half.
Against Lesotho too, when Rwanda was leading 1-0 and dominating possession with just 13 minutes to go, Amrouche did the unthinkable by taking off Innocent Nshuti for Rafael York as he opted to play without a striker.
Lesotho grew in confidence and equalized in the 82nd minute through Lehlohonolo Fothoane. Amavubi had a series of good chances in the final minutes of the game which a typical number 9 would have finished but they were all wasted.
One will wonder why Amrouche brought on York who is a winger at the expense of Rutsiro star striker Yves Habimana who is a number 9 when the team needed to continue putting pressure on the visitors.
ALSO READ: Foathoane equalizes late as Lesotho hold Rwanda in Kigali
Profligacy among attackers
One can attest Gilbert Mugisha lost more chances that those he created. He did all the work on the flank but his final ball was so poor that he missed them all.
He was at times selfish when Rwanda had a last-minute chance. He could have crossed for Gueulette to bury the ball into the net but he went for personal glory and ballooned the ball over the bar.
Nshuti also had a couple of chances to score but he failed to convert them before being substituted in the 77th minute.
Poor game management
Leading 1-0 as at the 80th minute and controlling the game, Amavubi should have managed time by delaying tactics which is often essential in football.
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Amrouche, however, made three irrelevant changes and failed to kill time as Lesotho mounted pressure on Amavubi and scored through the only chance they had in the second half.
Amavubi had various ways to kill the game and take the three maximum points but they couldn’t and were punished by Lesotho.
Players’ lack of zeal
Unlike their performance under Torsten Spittler in which Amavubi played with so much zeal, it now seems their firepower has gone down and most of the players have been lackadaisical.
The team adapted to Spittler’s philosophy in a few days and it helped the German coach to get the best out of them.
However, the team is now struggling, having picked just one point from a possible 6 in 2 home games. Thierry Manzi, who captained the team against Lesotho, said that the Spittler’s technical team and the current one under Amrouche are not the same and it may take time for the Algerian and his assistant coaches to get things right.
