Rwanda and Zimbabwe kick off their respective journeys to the 2026 World Cup finals when they go head-to-head at Stade Huye on Wednesday afternoon.
Having both missed out on a place in the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations, both teams will be keen to put on an improved qualifying campaign as they look to avoid sitting out yet another major international tournament.
Match preview
Rwanda wrapped up their AFCON qualifiers with a 1-1 draw against the Senegalese Lions of Teranga at Stade Me Abdoulaye Wade on September 9.
Torsten Spittler's men fell behind to Mamadou Camara's strike midway through the second half before drawing level in the stoppage time courtesy of Olivier Niyonzima.
While the Amavubi Wasps managed to stop a third straight defeat, they are now winless in their five matches across all competitions since the turn of the year.
Coming up next is the challenge of an opposing outfit who have lost the last four editions of this fixture after coming out on top in the opening two encounters.
Having failed to win any of their most recent seven home matches, Wednesday's hosts will be keen to get back to winning ways in front of their fans.
Zimbabwe played out a 1-1 stalemate against Botswana on September 30 when the teams locked horns in a friendly encounter at the Botswana National Stadium.
Baltemar Brito's men got their noses in front 20 minutes after the restart through Obriel Chirinda, but their lead only lasted three minutes as Lemogang Maswena restored parity.
That was the first outing of 2023 for the Warriors since they were disqualified from the African Nations Championship qualifying phase last year.
With a mouthwatering encounter against Nigeria to follow Wednesday's clash, the away side will be keen to secure a morale-boosting result in this one.
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Team News
Midfielder Marshall Munetsi is somewhat of a surprise inclusion in the Zimbabwe squad having only just returned to action from a broken nose.
Despite not finding the back of the net for Lyon since July, Tino Kadewere remains a strong candidate to lead the line for the visitors.
Elie Tatou Iradukunda and Arthur Gitego are both in line to make their Rwanda debuts having been called up to the senior squad for the first time.
Eighteen-year-old Hakim Sahabo already has five international caps under his belt and is expected to add to that tally in Wednesday's contest.
Rwanda possible starting lineup:
Fiarce; Fitina, Ali, Emmanuel, Ange; Hakim, Kevin, Lague; Patrick, Didier, Innocent
Zimbabwe possible starting lineup:
Bernard; Mbeba, Makarati, Hadebe, Zemura; Banda, Munetsi, Nakamba; Chrinda, Dube, Kadewere
We say: Rwanda 1-0 Zimbabwe
Both teams have had trouble finding the back of the net of late so we are anticipating a nervy and cagey affair here. That said, we just about fancy the hosts to come out on top at the end of the 90 minutes.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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