Ethiopia head coach Mesay Teferi - Photo EFF Media.
Ethiopia’s famous win over DR Congo in Kinshasa earned plaudits from their interim head coach Mesay Teferi. The Walias beat DR Congo 2-1 to conclude their poor African Cup of Nations qualifier campaign on a high note.
Teferi praised his charges' determination on the surprising win. “We played really well. We came up with a new strategy and played with counters. My players showed that they are capable of winning games and their fighting prowess tonight was unmatched. I thank them for the effort,” noted the interim boss.
The Walias last won a competitive match in September 2022 when they beat Rwanda on a lone goal to secure their passage through the African Nations Championship. Teferi and his charges suffered a 2-0 loss against Tanzania in Kinshasa but inflicted a huge 2-1 win over hosts DR Congo to end their two years winless run on international stage.
Bereket Desta and Mohammed-Nur Nassir scored the crucial goals. Nassir, who leads the 2024/25 Ethiopian Premier League goal scoring chart, got his debut international goal in the stoppage time of the duel. “Before they equalized we had chances to score but we failed to do that.
Nevertheless we still manage to score. Scoring is something that we should work on more. But tonight we managed to get two goals. It is such good work,” Teferi added.
Teferi now looks ahead and prepares his team for the last CHAN qualifier against Sudan. “We worked on a few new things on this campaign and got rewarded. We pressed. We tried to control the game and we avoided conceding early goals. We want to continue on a similar path and face Sudan next. It is the unity that we want to bring for the next games.”
Ethiopia concluded their AfCON campaign on four points being bottom of their group. Teferi will stay at the helm to lead the team for their CHAN qualifier against neighbor’s Sudan.
His contract is yet to be extended but a favorable result might see him keep his hot seat beyond January 2025.
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