Ethiopia out to avoid massive upset

Ethiopia players

Saturday Oct 10, 2015. 15:24

Ethiopia will be out to avoid a major upset when they host São Tomé and Príncipe in a second-leg 2018 World Cup Russia qualifier on Sunday.

The 'Walias' suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to the Islanders at the Estadio 12 de Julho on Thursday and now have it all to do in the return fixture.

Desperate to shake off a poor run of results, including a 7-1 loss to Cape Verde in a 2017 African Cup of Nations qualifier, 'The Falcons and True Parrots Team' came out guns blazing against the stunned Ethiopians.

Portugal-born Luis Leal scored the decisive goal three minutes from time to give the 193rd ranked nation, fourth weakest on the African continent, a surprise win over a side ranked 85 places above them in the latest FIFA world rankings.

Having seen his side struggle to a 2-1 win over Lesotho before a 1-1 draw in the Seychelles, Ethiopia head coach Yohannes Sahle couldn't have imagined the disaster that would transpire in São Tomé.

Sahle's job now hangs in the balance with the mentor coming under intense scrutiny having dropped attacking trio Salahdin Said, Getaneh Kebede and Oumed Oukri.

Said and Kebede were pivotal in the country reaching the 2014 qualifiers play-offs before eventually coming up short to Nigeria.

The clash at the Addis Ababa stadium in the countries capital is set to kick-off at 14h00 (16h00 local time) with Congo lying in wait for the winner.