Rwanda goalkeeper: Why I was motivated to stop Nigeria from scoring against us

Amavubi goalkeeper Fiacre Ntwari says his heroics against Nigeria’s Super Eagles was largely inspired by the presence of the country’s president, Paul Kagame to the Amahoro stadium to watch the game.

In what was his first game as Amavubi goalkeeper at the refurbished Amahoro stadium, Ntwari stood between Nigeria and victory in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Tuesday. The game ended goalless, the fourth drawn game in six games against Nigeria.

‘It was my first game at Amahoro Stadium, so I didn’t want to lose that game, everyone in us want to prove that we have improved, and our coach is helping us a lot. To know that our president is coming was also another motivation for us. We want to build from there and we believe this is start, the best are yet to come’ he revealed.

Ntwari also believes his teammates have shown the star-studded Nigerians with such players as Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman, Moses Simon, Wilfred Ndidi and others, what they are capable of doing.

‘We’re now big players who are now playing in Europe and other big leagues, so the only goal we can have is to win many matches. This game was very competitive against Nigeria, but this draw is a good result and we should motivate ourselves to do better.’ Ntwali said

‘We’ve got good squad ready to do better. I think all of players are ready for every game ahead and that performance against Nigeria will give us more confidence and self-belief that we can actually go on to win matches,’ the former AS Kigali goalkeeper added.