Matchday one of the World Cup Qualifiers for the 2026 finals begins already in Africa this week as Ethiopia and Sierra Leone aim to book their first-ever place at the world's biggest tournament from Group A.
The World Cup qualifiers for Africa always begin much earlier, as the Africa Cup of Nations takes place two years prior, forcing the World Cup Qualifiers to be spanned across two years.
Ethiopia's new head coach believes his team will need to improve their off the ball movement. Do you agree with his assessment?🤔 #Ethiopia #Football pic.twitter.com/LT4yLLDdWl— Ethiopian Football (@EthioFooty) November 13, 2023
Ethiopia's new head coach believes his team will need to improve their off the ball movement. Do you agree with his assessment?🤔 #Ethiopia #Football pic.twitter.com/LT4yLLDdWl
With this said, six teams occupy Group A with these two sides, and alongside the Mohamed Salah-inspired Egypt, a fight for top spot is going to be tough for Sierra Leone and Ethiopia.
On the other hand, with Guinea-Bissau, Djibouti and Burkina Faso all likely to struggle to challenge for a spot in first as well, ultimately, the race for second should be wide open.
Sierra Leone will see former England international Steven Caulker lead the line as the captain after switching allegiances two years ago.
The defender is easily the most notable player in the squad, but fans will also be pleased to see Chicago Fire’s Kai Kamara back with the team as well.
The county won't be in attendance at the Africa Cup of Nations this coming winter, as they finished third in their Group A qualification process, recording only one win and losing three times alongside one draw. This saw them score only 10 goals in six games and let in 11.
The only victory for Sierra Leone saw them beat Sao Tome and Principe 2-0 with a goal each from Abubakarr Samura and Alhassan Koroma in the first half.
Elsewhere in 2023, the county has played in two friendlies, firstly drawing with Benin on home soil before defeating Somalia 2-0. Other than this, they have only that win in the Afcon qualifiers to boast of.
As for Ethiopia, they too haven't made it to the AFCON after also winning just one game and losing four of the six matches. They also recorded a terrible record of five goals scored and eight let in.
Another struggle is expected in these World Cup Qualifiers, although Ethiopia have won their other two games outside of the AFCON battles by beating Rwanda 1-0 and Guyana 2-0 in friendlies.
Not much is expected from this game and very few goals are likely to happen.
Forebet predicts a win here for Ethiopia and for the game to see under 2.5 goals, as has been the case in most of their games.