Ethiopia set to battle Sierra Leone at the Stade El Abdi on Wednesday in the opener of the CAF 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Without a doubt, both sides will aim to kick off their qualification campaign with maximum points.
As the host team, the Walia Ibex will seek a bright start en route to make their FIFA World Cup debut in 2026 despite suffering a disappointing Africa Cup of Nations qualification campaign, finishing first from bottom in Group D.
However, the newly appointed Ethiopia coach, Gebremedhin Haile, will be looking for a better performance in the World Cup qualifiers.
Last week Thursday, Ethiopia Walias defeated Sudanese club side Al Hilal 2-0 in a test friendly ahead of facing Sierra Leone. Goals from Alelegn Azene and Bereket Desta.
Sierra Leone, on the other hand, also struggled to impress in the AFCON qualifiers. They only managed a win from their Group A six matches, losing the last two to Nigeria and Guinea-Bissau.
But Sierra Leone had a good start under new coach Amidu Karim in Morocco in October’s training camp, where they shared the spoils 1-1 with Benin and defeated Somalia 2-0.
Ethiopia vs Sierra Leone Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- Wednesday’s game will mark the third meeting between the two nations. Ethiopia are undefeated in their previous two games in this fixture, picking up a win and a draw.
- The two sides last faced off in a friendly clash in August 2021, which ended goalless.
- Sierra Leone is without a clean sheet in their last two games in CAF AFCON qualifiers.
- Ethiopia are without a win in their last three CAF Afcon qualifiers in Group D
- Leone Stars were ranked 122nd in the latest FIFA rankings and now sit 21 places above their midweek opponents.
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