AFCON (Q): Abel Yalew— Ethiopia must confirm group stage place at home

Ethiopia national team forward Abel Yalew has urged his teammates to finish the job in Dire Dawa when they face São Tomé and Príncipe in the second leg of their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) preliminary round tie. The pacy striker grabbed a brace during a 3–0 win over São Tomé and Príncipe on Friday.

 

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Yalew, who is on the books of Ethiopian club Sidama Coffee, is having a superb season since his return to his homeland following an unsuccessful stint at Egyptian side ZED FC. He has scored 12 goals for both club and country this season. He told Ethiopian Football Federation (EFF) Media that mental preparation before the tie helped them overcome São Tomé and Príncipe.

“We had a good game. We prepared ourselves for the encounter in a short period of time. We focused on mental preparation. Our coach (Yohannes Sahle) worked more on coordination due to the limited time. We put into practice what we worked on, and that helped us win the game.”

Yalew added that complacency is not needed before the second leg, although the Waliyas hold a 3–0 advantage. “We are not done with the match yet. It is true that we tried to finish it away from home. We are preparing mentally for the return leg since we don’t have time to train due to the long hours of travel. We will only confirm our qualification when we secure victory in the second leg. The job is not done yet.”

The two teams will lock horns at Dire Dawa Stadium on Tuesday, March 31. The winners of the preliminary round ties will advance to the main group stage of qualifying.