Rwanda men’s national football team the Wasps came into the match with nothing to lose considering the fact that they had already been crushed out of the race to Qatar.
The Wasps lost its final World Cup qualifying game on Monday to provide a moment of relief from the team glitches surrounding its camp.
Michael Olunga volleyed Kenya ahead in the third minute on the way to beating Rwanda 2-1. Richard Odada added the second from the penalty spot and Kenya was 2-0 up inside 15 minutes in Nairobi.
The visitors tried coming back into the game, when Olivier Niyonzima met a free kick with a side-foot volley for Rwanda’s goal, just its second goal in six games in the group stage qualifiers.
The result meant little with both teams already eliminated from contention, the game was just a formality.
Rwanda has completed their Group E World Cup qualifiers on a low after losing five matches out of six played and drawing one.
Mali won Group E to progress to Africa’s final World Cup playoffs in March. Having already advanced with a match to spare, their last game against the Cranes was a mere dead rubber, but the hosts opted to go for maximum points.
Kalifa Coulibaly, who was also on target against Rwanda, scored the lone goal in the 18th minute. It happened to be the only goal of the game.
Despite a spirited fightback by the visitors in the second half, Mali held on to bag maximum points.
The West Africans started their campaign with a 1-0 win at home against Rwanda, before being held to a goalless draw by 10-man Uganda in their second match.
Mali then followed up with back-to-back matches against Kenya, winning 5-0 at home before securing 1-0 victory in Nairobi.
A couple of days ago, they defeated 10-man Amavubi 3-0 away, before securing another win on Sunday to ensure they finished their campaign with 16 points.
Interestingly, the Eagles scored 11 goals and conceded none.
The Cranes are guaranteed a second-place finish with nine points. They have managed two wins and three draws, losing once. Uganda have further scored three goals and conceded two.
