PRAIA – Rwanda have kept their Africa Cup of Nations dream firmly alive after producing a determined comeback and surviving a tense finish to beat Cape Verde 2-1 away from home on Tuesday.
It was not a victory built on comfort or control. The Amavubi came from behind, withstood long spells of pressure and defended their narrow advantage through a frantic final quarter of an hour.
And when the final whistle arrived after six minutes of added time, Rwanda had secured three points that could prove priceless in their pursuit of a place at AFCON 2027.
Cape Verde had started brightly, with both sides refusing to give the other much room in a tightly contested opening.
Rwanda gradually began finding spaces and creating opportunities, including a free-kick that flew just over Vozinha’s goal in the 34th minute.
In the 40th minute, Ryan Mendes delivered into the area following a promising Cape Verde attack, and Gilson Benchimol was there to finish and put the home side ahead.
Rwanda secured a priceless away win against Cape Verde to keep AFCON dream alive.
For Rwanda, it was a moment that could easily have unsettled a team playing away from home. Instead, the response came almost immediately.
The Amavubi Stars refused to allow the deficit to change the direction of the game and continued searching for an opening. Deep into first-half stoppage time, that persistence finally paid off.
A corner sent the ball towards the edge of the area, where Claude Niyomugabo met it with powerful precision to strike past Vozinha and restored parity.
Rwanda went into the break level, having recovered from a setback that had threatened to hand Cape Verde the advantage going into the second half.
Another decisive moment came in the 52nd minute when Joy-Lance Mickels delivered a dangerous ball into the box, and met Elie Iradukunda in the right place to turn it into the net.
Suddenly, Rwanda had gone from trailing to leading and the goal changed the complexion of the contest.
Cape Verde now had to chase the game, while Rwanda were faced with the difficult task of protecting a lead against a home side determined not to let the points slip away.
In the final stages, Cape Verde made changes in search of an equalizer and continued pushing forward. Rwanda, meanwhile, had to absorb pressure and look for opportunities to threaten on the counter.
There were moments when the margin between victory and a draw appeared painfully thin.
In the 79th minute, Fiacre Ntwari produced an important save to deny the hosts an equalizer. Three minutes later, Claude Niyomugabo came dangerously close to putting the ball into his own net while attempting to clear a Cape Verde attack.
With the clock running down, the pressure continued. Cape Verde kept throwing players forward, knowing that one goal would rescue a point. But Rwanda held firm.
Ntwari remained composed in goal, while the defence continued to put bodies behind the ball. When Cape Verde found another opening in the closing minutes, Ntwari again stood between the hosts and an equalizer.
Rwanda also had chances to settle the contest once and for all, but Vozinha prevented the Amavubi from adding a third. The final minutes became a battle against the clock.
At 93 minutes, Bonheur Mugisha and Mickels were withdrawn, replaced by Kévin Muhire and Innocent Nshuti as Rwanda sought fresh legs for the final moments.
At the final whistle, Rwanda had completed a remarkable turnaround to take the lead and win a match that Cape Verde spent the closing stages desperately trying to rescue.
The victory gives the Amavubi another important step in a campaign whose objective is to return to the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time since their historic appearance 22years ago.
After opening the campaign with a 3-1 victory over Liberia, Rwanda now have six points from their first two matches.
More importantly, they have shown that their AFCON journey will not be defined only by what happens when they are in control. In Praia, they were forced to fight and they successfully did.
