BBC Sportfootball

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Related BBC sites

Page last updated at 15:36 GMT, Wednesday, 19 January 2011

Rwanda through to under-17 final

By Prudent Nsengiyumva
BBC Sport, Kigali

Rwanda coach Richard Tardy
I am very proud to have qualified a team like Rwanda for a World Cup and continental final

Rwanda coach Richard Tardy

Hosts Rwanda are through to the final of the African under-17 championship after beating Ivory Coast 1-0 on Wednesday.

The Baby Wasps will face Burkina Faso on Saturday after Justin Mico's 72nd-minute goal delighted a packed Amahoro Stadium in the capital Kigali.

The Burkinabe booked their place when beating Congo in Tuesday's semi-final.

Rwanda and the other semi-finalists have all earned a place at Fifa's Under-17 World Cup in Mexico in June.

"If I had said one month ago that we would play the final, I would have been told I was crazy," said Rwanda's French coach Richard Tardy. "I am proud and happy for the country and people of Rwanda."

Despite missing injured captain Emery Bayisenge, Rwanda weathered a first-half storm even if the Ivorians were guilty of missing three presentable chances.

With around 15,000 inside the ground, many blowing vuvuzelas and singing constantly, Mico eventually broke the deadlock as he danced through the Ivorian defence.

But the hosts should have wrapped up the win five minutes from time when winger Mwesigye Tibingana shot wide when left with the easiest of chances.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame attended the tournament for the first time on Wednesday and was credited with inspiring the home side to a win that sparked huge celebrations.

"His presence gave us the will to fight harder," said stand-in skipper Faustin Usengimana.

Rwandans celebrate at the African U17 championship
Rwanda's success is being celebrated across the country

Meanwhile, Ivory Coast coach Alain Gouamene said his team, who now face Congo Brazzaville in Friday's third-place play-off, were unlucky.

"We shall now put everything into the Congo match," he said.

Rwanda's decisive clash with the Burkinabe will be a repeat of the opening game in the tournament, which the hosts won 2-1.

"The final will be very different to the first game," said Tardy. "We have 24 hours less to recover, but we'll do our best to win."

Rwanda has never previously participated in a World Cup of any sort and has only ever competed at one senior African Cup of Nations - in Tunisia in 2004.

Saturday's match will be the first final Rwanda has contested at continental level - and neither the tournament hosts nor the Burkinabe have ever won the U17 title before.



Print Sponsor


see also
2011 African U17 Championship
05 Jan 11 |  African
Burkina Faso through to U17 final
18 Jan 11 |  African
Burkina take on Congo in U17 semi
18 Jan 11 |  African
Congo reach U17 semis, Gambia out
15 Jan 11 |  African
Burkina Faso through to U17 semis
14 Jan 11 |  African
Gambian Baby Scorpions sting Mali
12 Jan 11 |  African
Rwanda qualify for U17 World Cup
11 Jan 11 |  African
Gambia suffer Congo U17 defeat
09 Jan 11 |  African
Rwanda off to flying U17 start
09 Jan 11 |  African


related bbc links:

related internet links:
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites