Ethiopia hopes for victory against Nigeria
Ethiopians are optimistic of victory ahead of their 2014 World Cup playoff against the Super Eagles of Nigeria.
On October 13th, Ethiopia will host the reigning African champions, Nigeria, with a crucial return leg scheduled for November 16th in Calabar.
In the past week, numerous players from the Ethiopian squad have expressed their expectations for the match. Ethiopian and Saint George-SA defender Adane Girma cautioned the African champions not to expect his team to be pushed over easily. His team mate, Agebaw Butako, said the team is practising hard and are a 100% ready for the match.
Ethiopia qualified for the last African Cup of Nations in South Africa after failing to qualify for about 3 decades. They are hoping to extend this string of good fortune by beating the African champions to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
According to the pundits, the Ethiopian team have the potential to cause an upset by beating the Super Eagles. Many agree the Wayla Antelopes have the skill to beat the Nigerian team, but they are quite inexperienced as compared to the Super Eagles.
The Nigerian team currently stands at 36th in the world and 4th in the continent on the FIFA world ranking. While the Ethiopians are ranked at 93rd in the world and 25th in the continent.
Based on the results of their past clashes against the Wayla Antelopes, the odds favor the Super Eagles. Ethiopia has won just one and drawn two of their past meetings with Nigeria. Most recently, the Wayla Antelopes were beaten 2-0 by the Super Eagles in the just ended African Cup of Nations. The Nigerian team also recorded victories in their three other encounters.
The Vice Chairman for the Ethiopian Football Federation, Teka Asfaw, informed the press that three players – Shemelse Beleke, Addis Hintsa and Getamhe Kebede – are expected to join the rest of the team over the weekend.
The Super Eagles are also upbeat about this clash. Nigerian striker Victor Moses said his team is ready for the battle the Ethiopians would bring. He said he expected the fact that the match will be played in Addis Ababa to have an impact on the performance of his opponents, but hoped for a good result ahead of the return leg in Nigeria.
The Nigerian government have also expressed its interest in the outcome of this match. Earlier in the week, President Goodluck Johnathan of Nigeria approved a petition to transfer 200 fans to Ethiopia to support the Super Eagles.