Football
Gebremedhin Haile Blames Striker Struggles for Ethiopia's AFCON Qualifying Woes
Ethiopian coach Gebremedhin Haile attributes Ethiopia’s AFCON qualifying struggles to a lack of potent strikers. He stresses the need for long-term solutions to bolster the Waliyas' attack
Image Credits: Le-Eqipe
Ethiopian national team coach Gebremedhin Haile blames quality of his strikers for the less goal that the Waliyas got in the 2025 African Cup of Nations qualifier.
Ethiopia is drawn in Group H along with D.R. Congo, Tanzania and Guinea. They collected a point after a hard fought stalemate against Tanzania back in August.
Current State of Ethiopian Forwards
Haile stated he took over the helm at the national team during the period of goal drought.
“I am not going to lie about it. We have a problem. We don’t have a potent number nine. We all should agree on this. We only scored ones in six competitive games. This is not something we are proud of. We need to rectify this soon although it can’t happen very fast,” he told SportsBoom.com.
Chance creation is still a headache for the head coach but he disagrees with this particular notions.
“In each game we created scoring chances. We couldn’t capitalize on them. The Congo game definitely can be an example. Look at how many clear chances we squandered. It is a process and we live to learn and grow.”
Just try to examine the strikers we have in the Ethiopian Premier League. Now the foreign strikers took control of the league. They top the scoring charts in recent times. This is a sophisticated problem that needs long-term solution. We can’t change it overnight.
Gebremedhin Haile
Retirement of Star Strikers
Coach Haile noted Ethiopia lost some key strikers through international football retirement. Among the household names of Ethiopian strikers Getaneh Kebede tops the list. Kebede performed well for the national side for more than a decade. Kebede who now plays for Ethiopian outfit Fasil Kenema announced his retirement from international football a year ago.
“I have tried to speak to Kebede on the potential return to the national team.”
“Nonetheless, he made up his mind. So we should respect his decision.”
Another strikers that the Waliyas deeply missed is Abubakher Nassir. Nassir, now on the cards of South African football powerhouse Mamelodi Sundowns, failed to play for the national team for almost two years now. His injury prone football life made it difficult for him to establish himself in South Africa. He was included for the Tanzania and D.R.
Congo game but he failed to honor the call up. Haile is unfazed by the decision.
“First off Nassir agreed to join the national team roaster. His club also agreed to let him go but ultimately he told the Federation that he couldn’t make it due to injury. I really don’t know much details about his injury. Next time we should follow along about it. But if he is faking it, it will be a huge problem.”
Haile opted to call up Nassir for the Guinea doubleheader qualifying games.
Qualifying Chance Hang on Balance
The 2-0 defeat against D.R. Congo put Ethiopia in predicament. Playing away from home made the Waliyas to suffer immensely. Haile says his charges can qualify if they take on their scoring chances.
“We failed to score in the last two qualifying games. That doesn't technically means we won’t score in the next two games. We have to work hard and get points.”
CAF suspended Ethiopia not to play at home citing poor stadium conditions. Ethiopia for now don’t have a stadium not fits CAF minimum stadium requirement. Haile never had the chance to lead the national team on home soil.
“If we played our matches at home by now we would have gotten four points. Against D.R. Congo it was us who were the home team but the Congolese had many supporters.
The weather condition and the fans could have played a huge role in our success. It is unfortunate for not playing at home. We lost a key advantage. It will absolutely impacts our quest to qualify for the nations cup
Gebremedhin Haile
Is Haile Walking in a Tight Rope?
Haile signed a one year deal with the Ethiopian Football Federation (EFF). His contract is about to end and EFF is not trying to extend his stay. Haile double as the coach of Ethiopian league side Ethiopian Insurance FC. Haile says he is tired of managing.
“To be honest I am so tired of coaching. I coach the national team and a club. It is extremely tight and I want to relax. I am proud of coaching the national side but the benefit is none extant.”
This particular comment made some EFF officials disappointed. The Federation might soon will be on the lookout for a new head coach. If Ethiopian fails to beat Guinea, Haile time at the national side will cut short even before his contract elapses.
According to close sources the next Ethiopia coach could be a non-Ethiopian. The last non-Ethiopian coach to lead the Waliyas was Portuguese coach Mariano Barreto.
Haile’s second stint as coach Ethiopia could end in a very bad way, if his charges fail to get a result and goal.
Omna is a well experienced sport journalist based in Addis Ababa Ethiopia. He has a decade of experience working with local radio stations and football websites covering mainly Ethiopian and African football and sports. Omna previously worked as Ethiopian football contributor for the BBC and CAF.