Ethiopia chase first Afcon qualifier win

Ethiopia will chase a first win in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers when they face Guinea in a Group H match at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan on Saturday 12 October.

Kick-off is at 6pm CAT

Ethiopia got their qualification campaign off to a slow start last month, drawing 0-0 with Tanzania and suffering a 2-0 loss at the hands of DR Congo – with both matches held in Dar Es Salaam.

The Walia Ibex are looking to return to the Afcon (they last appeared in the 2021 edition in Cameroon, but missed the last tournament in Ivory Coast) and desperately need a strong result against the Syli National to revive their hopes.

Coach Gebremedhin Haile has called up a squad of 23 players which includes key midfielder Gatoch Panom and Egyptian-based striker Abel Yalew.

Guinea, meanwhile, fared even worse at the start of their Nations Cup qualifying campaign, as they suffered a 1-0 defeat away to DRC, before a 1-2 ‘home’ loss against Tanzania in Yamoussoukro.

The Syli National have turned to Frenchman Michel Dussuyer, appointing him as coach for a third time, and the tactician has described the situation as “a commando operation”.

He added, “This first match against Ethiopia will set the tempo.”

In head-to-head stats, Guinea and Ethiopia have met in nine matches dating back as far as 1976.

The West African side have claimed six wins compared to one for their East Africa counterparts, while two games have been drawn.

The Syli National have won the last five matches between the teams, including a ‘double’ (2-0 in Casablanca and 3-2 in Rabat, both in March 2023) in the qualifiers for the last Afcon.