Hosts Eritrea seek semifinal spot

Hosts Eritrea will seek to cross a significant landmark at the Council of East and Central Africa Football Association (Cecafa) Under-20 Championship semifinal in Asmara on Wednesday night. Never before has an Eritrean team reached the semifinal of a Cecafa tournament. Now their semifinal opponents, Rwanda, are the only hurdle they need to overcome to make a historic appearance in a Cecafa final. Eritrea’s coach, Negash Teklit, has cautioned his team against underrating Rwanda. “They fielded an Under-17 side for this tournament and no one expected them to reach this far. Now that they have arrived at this stage, we cannot take them for granted,” said Teklit. The Rwandese have grown more confident as the tournament progressed. After brushing past Yemen 1-0 in their last Group B fixture, they are no pushovers. “We have a young side who, what they lack in physical strength, compensate for with skill and teamwork. The boys will give it their all,” said Rwanda’s Richard Tardy.