The Huye Stadium in Butare was buzzing on Tuesday as home side Rwanda sealed a 2-0 win over South Africa to go atop Group C of the 2026 FIFA World Cup African qualifiers.
Two first-half goals from Innocent Nshuti and Gilbert Mugisha helped the Wasps to their first group win following a goalless draw in the opening game against the Warriors of Zimbabwe.
South Africa came into the game as group leaders, but they had no answers to Rwanda’s questions on the AstroTurf pitch of the Huye Stadium, with Nshuti shooting his side ahead in the 12th minute.
The APR striker latched onto a through ball from Lague Byiringiro before bullying a South African defender and striking the ball from outside the box into the bottom corner, beating Ronwen Williams in goal for the visitors.
Rwanda’s dominance continued, and they were rewarded with another goal two minutes before the half-hour mark. After South African right back Khuliso Mudau failed to clear Mugisha’s initial attempt at dribbling past him, the APR winger latched onto the loose ball before slotting past Williams into the far corner from inside the box.
The win took the Wasps to four points as they climbed to the summit of the group standings, while Bafana Bafana remain on three points after their previous 2-1 win against Benin Republic and drop into second place.
In the other match in Group C, the Crocodiles of Lesotho played out their second goalless stalemate in the group, as they held Benin to a 0-0 draw at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, South Africa.
Lesotho are currently in fourth place with two points from their opening two games, while the Cheetahs are at the bottom of the group with just a point.
