Rwanda coach Johnny McKinstry has admitted that overcoming Ghana in Group H of the 2017 Afcon qualifiers will be a tall order for the Amavubi.

Rwanda were drawn together with Ghana, Mozambique and Mauritius at the ongoing Caf Congress in Cairo, Egypt, where Gabon was handed the rights to host the biennial event beating Algeria and Ghana who were bidding to host.

McKinstry told supersport.com: “It is obviously a tough group. No one wants to be in the same group with Ghana because they have been a very strong side and are a relatively young team.”

The Irishman, who coached the ‘Right to Dream’ Academy in Ghana in 2010, admitted that the Black Stars are favourites to qualify out of Group H.

“The games against Mozambique and Mauritius will be evenly contested and we can win. We have to fight for the second place in this group but so will both Mozambique and Mauritius. First place will be difficult but second place is a very realistic ambition for us,” explained McKinstry.

The last time Rwanda faced Ghana in the 2003 Afcon qualifiers, the Black Stars defeated Amavubi 4-2 in Accra but fell to a 1-0 loss in Kigali courtesy of a remarkable strike by the renowned Jimmy Gatete in the 49th minute of a highly contested encounter.

Rwanda went on to finish top of Group 13 with seven points, ahead of Uganda in second place with five points while Ghana were third and last on the table standings with four points.

The winners in each of the 13 groups will qualify automatically to the final tournament while the two runners-up with the best records will join the hosts to make 16 teams.

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