{"id":67776,"date":"2024-03-14T18:28:01","date_gmt":"2024-03-14T18:28:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/karekezi-warns-amavubi-despite-bright-start-to-wc-qualifiers"},"modified":"2024-03-14T18:41:38","modified_gmt":"2024-03-14T18:41:38","slug":"karekezi-warns-amavubi-despite-bright-start-to-wc-qualifiers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/karekezi-warns-amavubi-despite-bright-start-to-wc-qualifiers","title":{"rendered":"Karekezi warns Amavubi despite bright start to WC qualifiers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>Ex-Rwanda captain Olivier Karekezi has raised alarms on the current national team to be ready for every game ahead of them and carry on their impressive start to the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.<\/p>\n

The November World Cup Africa Qualifiers left Rwanda leading Group C standings with 4 points after a stunning 2-0 victory over South Africa days after drawing with Zimbabwe in both games held at Huye Stadium.<\/p>\n

Karekezi, the country\u2019s all-time top scorer, praised the team\u2019s recent performance but insists there is still a long way to go for them to fulfill their dreams.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeating South Africa 2-0 is something big for our young guns but they still have a long way to go so they must be ready for the next matches and prepare their minds to win every match ahead of them,\u201d Karekezi told Times Sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes they have done well so far but it is time to restart again. It is good for them if they play friendly matches which can shape them for good preparations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey played well the last two games, and even though they drew the first game against Zimbabwe, they would have won it but it gives experience and confidence, I believe Amavubi has a bright future,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Frank Torsten Spittler\u2019s team will play two friendly games against Madagascar and Guinea during the March international break.<\/p>\n

The German gaffer will use the occasion as part of the national team\u2019s preparations for the forthcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup Africa Qualifiers in June.<\/p>\n

Karekezi said getting the team many matches will help players to be more competitive enough to do even better when the qualifiers return in June.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the best crop of players we have in the country. If we invest in them and expose them to more competitive matches, we will certainly be on the right path towards a successful Chan tournament come 2016,\u201d the former APR striker noted.<\/p>\n

Nobody expected it!<\/b><\/p>\n

Rwanda stunned South Africa 2-0 in the World Cup qualifiers, a result that renewed Spittler’s hopes of helping the Amavubi to do better in the qualifiers for the very first time since 2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the result that everyone wanted as a Rwandan but no one was expecting that performance. We have got wise players who are playing very well, especially in the first half. The football they played, bringing it out from the back, creating many passes, and moving the ball was the best football that team has played in years. I am happy for the young boys,\u201d Karekezi said.<\/p>\n

Rwanda returns to qualifying action in June when they visit Benin and Lesotho between June 3 and 11.<\/p>\n

The East African country leads Group C with 4 points after 2 qualifying matches. AFCON 2023 semifinalists South Africa are second with three points while Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and Lesotho follow with two points apiece. Benin finds themselves at the bottom with one point after two qualifying matches.<\/p>\n

The CAF region for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers started in November 2023 and it will span a two-year period.<\/p>\n

Africa will be represented by ten teams in the next edition of the world\u2019s most prestigious showpiece which will take place in Canada, the United States, and Mexico.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Rwanda<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. Ex-Rwanda captain Olivier Karekezi has raised alarms on the current national team to be ready for every game ahead of them and carry on their impressive start to the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. The November World Cup Africa Qualifiers left Rwanda leading Group C standings with 4 points after a stunning […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":67775,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,18],"tags":[760,763,1606,5323,758,4152,4153],"class_list":["post-67776","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-sport","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-rwanda","tag-amavubi","tag-olivier-karekezi","tag-rwanda","tag-torsten-frank-spittler","tag-world-cup-2026"],"yoast_head":"\nKarekezi warns Amavubi despite bright start to WC qualifiers - Rwanda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ex-Rwanda captain Olivier Karekezi has raised alarms on the current national team to be ready for every game ahead of th ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/karekezi-warns-amavubi-despite-bright-start-to-wc-qualifiers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Karekezi warns Amavubi despite bright start to WC qualifiers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ex-Rwanda captain Olivier Karekezi has raised alarms on the current national team to be ready for every game ahead of th ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/karekezi-warns-amavubi-despite-bright-start-to-wc-qualifiers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-03-14T18:28:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-03-14T18:41:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2024\/03\/sm_1710428536.643707.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"583\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/karekezi-warns-amavubi-despite-bright-start-to-wc-qualifiers#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/karekezi-warns-amavubi-despite-bright-start-to-wc-qualifiers\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Karekezi warns Amavubi despite bright start to WC qualifiers\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-03-14T18:28:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-03-14T18:41:38+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/karekezi-warns-amavubi-despite-bright-start-to-wc-qualifiers\"},\"wordCount\":552,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/karekezi-warns-amavubi-despite-bright-start-to-wc-qualifiers#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2024\/03\/sm_1710428536.643707.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Rwanda\",\"Amavubi\",\"Olivier Karekezi\",\"Rwanda\",\"Torsten Frank Spittler\",\"World Cup 2026\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/karekezi-warns-amavubi-despite-bright-start-to-wc-qualifiers#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/karekezi-warns-amavubi-despite-bright-start-to-wc-qualifiers\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/karekezi-warns-amavubi-despite-bright-start-to-wc-qualifiers\",\"name\":\"Karekezi warns Amavubi despite bright start to WC qualifiers - 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