10-man Ethiopia suffer defeat in AFCON opening match

Ethiopia made a false start at the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of nations (AFCON) 2021 losing 1-0 to Cape Verde on Sunday evening.

The Group A match at the Olembe Stadium in Yaounde started with a high tempo only for Ethiopia to be reduced by a player. Yared Belay was sent off after a tab tackle.

The Walia Ibex tried to contain the Cape Verde team, but played a more defensive approach before the Blue Sharks took the lead after one minute of added time to half time.

Veteran striker Julio Tavares nodded in the lone goal after the Ethiopian defenders failed to clear a high cross into the box.

In the second half the Cape Verde team continued to dominate play, but missed several scoring opportunities. Ethiopia’s coach Coach Abate tried to make some changes, but they did not yield any goals.

In an earlier Group A match five time AFCON champions Cameroon came from a goal down to beat Burkina Faso 2-1.

Cameroon now lead the Group A standing, while Cape Verde are in second place, while Ethiopia are bottom. The CECAFA representatives Ethiopia will return to action on January 13^th against Cameroon. On Tuesday Sudan will face Guinea Bissau in a Group D match at the Roumde Adjia Stadium in Garoua.

Group A

                      P   W   D    L   GF GA  GD  Pts

Cameroon     1     1    0    0     2     1     1     3

Cape Verde   1     1    0    0     1     0     1     3

Burkina Faso 1     0    0    1     1     2    -1    0

Ethiopia         1     0    0    1     0     1    -1    0