Standard de Liege’s recently appointed head coach, Ivan Leko, gave Rwanda international midfielder Hakim Sahabo a full debut in a 3-3 friendly match against Borussia Dortmund played at Marbella Football Center in Spain.
On Tuesday, January 9, Standard Liège and Borussia Dortmund shared a six-goal draw in Marbella, as Ivan Leko coached side contested in their first friendly match of the mid-season training camp held in southern Spain.
Upon joining the club five days ago, the former Croatian international opted to bring in six players, including Sahabo from team B, to join the main team in Marbella to showcase their potential and start battling for a squad spot for the team that finished ninth in the first leg of the Belgian Jupiller league.
Only Hakim Sahabo was chosen in the first 11 to face Edin Terzic’s Borussia Dortmund out of six players who were due to travel with the youth squad to Morocco. And Rwandan International, who has been playing for Standard de liege U-23 since joining the club in the summer of 2023, made his long-awaited full debut against Dortmund.
Sahabo played 60 minutes with Isaac Price in a holding midfield role before being replaced by Noah Mawete Kinsiona. A minute after Wilfried Kanga helped Standard in to take a 2-1 lead.
On the field, former Standard de Liege and now Dortmund defender Thomas Meunier converted Donyell Malen’s cross in the 15th minute to give the yellow and black the lead. Wilfried Kanga equalized 20 minutes later, thanks to a superb assist from Moussa Djenepo, and the teams went into the interval tied at 1-1.
Kanga inspired Standard de Liege to take the lead in the 59th minute, before Papadopoulos equalized for Dortmund in the 70th minute. In the 76th minute, Stipe Perica put the Belgians up for the second time, but Samuel Bamba came off the bench to deny Ivan Leko his first win. Bamba equalized in the 88th minute to make it 3-3.
It was a solid game and debut for the 18-year-old Rwandan midfielder, who has yet to make his Jupiller league debut despite winning 5 caps for Rwanda.
Hakim Sahabo was part of the team that stunned South Africa 2-0 in their second encounter of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifications to take the commanding lead of African World Cup Qualification Group C.
Borussia Dortmund XI: Gregor Kobel, Thomas Meunier, Mats Hummels, Niklas Süle, Nico Schlotterbeck, Salih Özcan, Marcel Sabitzer, Donyell Malen, Julian Brandt, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, and Youssoufa Moukoko
Standard de Liege XI: Arnaud Bodart, Zinho Vanheusden, Noubi Ngnokam, Kostas Laifis, Marlon Fossey, Hakim Sahabo, Issac Price, Moussa Djenepo, Hayao Kawabe, Kamai Sowah, and Wilfried Kanga
