Rwanda to use home conditions to stun Libya

by Staff Reporter

Tuesday Nov 17, 2015. 09:30

Rwanda will rely on favourable home conditions to beat Libya and book their place in the third round of 2018 World Cup qualifiers.

Amavubi suffered a 1-0 defeat to the the Mediterranean Knights in the first-leg at the Stade Olympique de Sousse last week and will need to score twice on home soil, without conceding, to settle the tie in regulation time and ensure progression.

Faisal Al Badri scored the only goal of the game in Tunisia and the 2014 African Nations Championship champions will be confident of holding Rwanda, with the hosts arriving back in Kigali on Sunday morning following a long round trip via Turkey.

Rwanda boss Johnny McKinstry, though, is adamant that his side will turn things around and book their place alongside 20 African hopefuls in the next round.

“The goal came so early and allowed Libya to sit back and play on counter attack," McKinstry told eng.imirasire.com in the aftermath of the first-leg.

"We created one or two things but they were not enough. So we have told the players that we have got another 90 minutes and from now until kick-off on Tuesday, it’s very much about rest and recovery to enable them be them at full energy.

“Libya will not find it easy in Kigali, playing at altitude in Kigali and synthetic field and if we play at high intensity, we know we will turn around the result."

Rwanda currently occupy 96th place in the latest FIFA world rankings, war-ravaged Libya sit in 113th place.

Kick-off at the Stade Régional Nyamirambo in the Rwandan capital is set for 15h30 CAT.