Amavubi will seek to build on two opening victories in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers when they face Mali twice in November, with both teams entering the encounters on six points.
The first match is scheduled for November 13 in Bamako, followed by the return fixture at Amahoro Stadium on November 17.
FERWAFA confirmed the dates as Stephen Constantine’s squad began preparations on November 5.
Rwanda beat Liberia 3-1 in their opening Group K match before securing a 2-1 away victory over Cape Verde. Mali also collected maximum points, defeating Cape Verde 3-1 and Liberia 1-0.
The results leave the two sides six points ahead of Cape Verde and Liberia, who have yet to collect a point.
Their November meetings offer an opportunity to strengthen their positions in the qualification race.
Amavubi have scored five goals and conceded two, while Mali have scored four and conceded one. Both teams therefore have a goal difference of plus three.
Rwanda’s victory in Cape Verde showed their ability to recover after falling behind away from home. Elie Iradukunda scored the decisive goal after the interval to secure a second consecutive win.
That result gives Amavubi an encouraging away performance to build on before travelling to Bamako.
Mali, meanwhile, will enter the fixture having kept a clean sheet in their most recent qualifier against Liberia.
Although the teams have made similarly strong starts, their previous meetings favour Mali.
Across four recorded World Cup qualifying encounters, Mali won three and Rwanda drew one. Amavubi scored twice and conceded seven.
Mali won 2-1 in Kigali in March 2013, before Rwanda earned a 1–1 draw away in June that year. Their two meetings in the 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign ended in 1–0 and 3-0 victories for Mali in 2021.
The November fixtures give Amavubi an opportunity to improve that record while adding to their promising start in the current campaign.
Six points are available across the two matches. Winning both would take Rwanda to 12 points and leave Mali on six.
One victory apiece would put both teams on nine points, while two draws would leave each with eight.
Cape Verde and Liberia will also meet twice during the international window. Their results will help determine how much of an advantage Rwanda and Mali retain heading into the final round of fixtures.
Neither team has secured qualification, making the November matches important even after their successful opening results.
For Amavubi, the challenge begins away from home before attention turns to Amahoro four days later.
By the end of the return match on November 17, both teams will have played four of their six group fixtures, leaving two matches each to complete their qualification campaigns.
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