50 Pictures: Rwanda stun Benin to register first win at revamped Amahoro

Rwanda stunned Benin 2-1 in the 2025 AFCON Qualifying match held at Amahoro Stadium on Tuesday evening.

Djihad Bizimana and Innocent Nshuti’s goals saw Amavubi battle back and clinch the first triumph at the refurbished Amahoro.

The Cheetahs, who had dismantled Amavubi 3-0 at Abidjan’s Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium on 11 October, were put in front by Andréas Hountondji in the 42nd minute. The Burnley forward poked the ball in the back of the net, following Hassane Imourane’s cross in the area.

Frank Torsten made an alteration at the half-time break, with Bosco Ruboneka coming in for Jojea Kwizera, giving Rwanda the sort of sharpness. It all went to plan in the 70th minute when Nshuti scored from close range after Emmanuel Imanishimwe’s head pass.

With Amavubi having the upper hand over Gernot Rohr’s side, Bizimana was tripped in the area by Junior Olaitan two minutes later, and the referee pointed to the spot. The Rwanda skipper converted it and gave his team a lead, and they managed to keep it and secured the first win over Benin in the Torsten era.

“We tried to avoid making stupid mistakes,” said Torsten in a post-game press conference.

Rwanda stayed in third place and sit on five points from four matches in Group D of the Qualifiers for the 2025 AFCON, which will take place in Morocco from 21 December 2025 to 18 January 2026.

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