Look into East African giants Ethiopia National Football team. Learn about their squad, coach, world ranking, and AFCON progress. Come with us as we unveil more about them. They already have an AFCON cup in their cabinet. Will they get another one this year?

Ethiopia's National Football team — Photo: canva.com (modified by author)
Source: UGC

The Ethiopia National Football Team is one of the most successful in East African. They are the only East Africans to qualify for AFCON this year. They have also won numerous awards on the continent, with great players making their squad.

Ethiopia national football team

They are one of the most decorated African teams with an AFCON trophy in their cabinet. It was won in 1962 when they were the hosts. They have never won it again. They have been nicknamed the Walias, from the Walia ibex, an endangered ibex species in their country.

They had their first international match in 1947 against French Somaliland, where they won 5 nil. The first AFCON tournament was in 1957, and they were the only of three nations to take part. The other two nations were Sudan and Egypt.

Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates fans get what they want as clubs dominate DStv Compact Cup team

Football

Ethiopia national football team players

It currently has a 28 man squad. The squad is divided into goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and attackers.

Ethiopia national football team squad, coach, world rankings, AFCON, nickname — Abubeker Nasir dribbles past the Zimbabwean Goalkeeper on his way to score a goal during the 2022 world cup qualifying match in Harare. Photo: Jekesai Njikizana
Source: Getty Images

The goalkeepers are F. Gebremichael, F. Getahun, T. Shanko and J. Tassew.
The defenders are Y. Bayeh, M. Debebe, S. Hamid, A. Reshid, A. Tamene, D. Yohannes and R. Yusef.
The midfielders include F. Alemu, S. Bekele, S. Dagnachew, Y. Endashaw, S. Gugesa, B. Melayu, M. Mohammed, G. Panom, F. Solomon, A. Tonjo and A. Yohannes.
The attackers are A. Gebremichael, D. Hotessa, M. Kassim, G. Kebede, A. Nasir and M. Tafesse.

W. Abate, their coach, leads the squad. Most of the players play in the Ethiopian premier league. Their average age is 26 years.

Ethiopia national football team roster

Their national team roster consists of the following players:

F. Gebremichael, F. Getahun, T. Shanko and J. Tassew as goalkeeper,
Y. Bayeh, M. Debebe, S. Hamid, A. Reshid, A. Tamene, D. Yohannes and R. Yusef as defenders,
F. Alemu, S. Bekele, S. Dagnachew, Y. Endashaw, S. Gugesa, B. Melayu, M. Mohammed, G. Panom, F. Solomon, A. Tonjo and A. Yohannes as midfielders and,
A. Gebremichael, D. Hotessa, M. Kassim, G. Kebede, A. Nasir and M. Tafesse as the attackers.

Readers fear for Bafana Bafana after announcement of international friendly against world champions France

Football

Ethiopia national football team ranking

They are currently ranked at number 137 as of 2022. They are just below Lithuania and above St. Kitts and Nevis. Their highest ranking ever was 85. They were worst-ranked at 155.

Ethiopia national football team AFCON

Their coach named a 28 man squad for the AFCON tournament in Cameroon. The team consists of four goalkeepers, seven defenders, eleven midfielders, and six attackers named F. Gebremichael, F. Getahun, T. Shanko, J. Tassew, Y. Bayeh, M. Debebe, S. Hamid, A. Reshid, A. Tamene, D. Yohannes, R. Yusef, F. Alemu, S. Bekele, S. Dagnachew, Y. Endashaw, S. Gugesa, B. Melayu, M. Mohammed, G. Panom, F. Solomon, A. Tonjo, A. Yohannes, A. Gebremichael, D. Hotessa, M. Kassim, G. Kebede, A. Nasir and M. Tafesse. Their coach is W. Abate.

Ethiopia national football team captain

Their team captain is Shemeles Bekele. He plays in the Ethiopian Premier League for Wolkite City. He is 5ft 10 in, which translates to 178 cms. His current age is 29 as of 2022, but he will be turning 30 on April 2nd 2022.

Zimbabwe national football team players, nickname, coach, world rankings and AFCON

Football

Ethiopia national football team coach

The national team coach is Wubetu Abate. He hopes to return Ethiopia's national team to continental glory in this year's AFCON. His football career came to an end as he battled injuries, then he turned to coach. He led the Ethiopian club Ethiopia Bunna to their only Premier League title in the 2010/2011 season. His run was so impressive that he was drafted to the National Team managerial position in 2020. When he got drafted, he was quoted saying,

"I like challenges and enjoy them. I face many challenges in my coaching career. The higher the risk, the higher the reward. It was a dream for me to manage the Ethiopian national team. Surprisingly, the dream has come true, and I hope to achieve good results during my spell."

Abate has made a positive impact on the team. Taking them to AFCON 2022 was the peak achievement. A football specialist on Pod'CAN was quoted saying,

Malawi national football team squad, coach, world rankings, AFCON, nickname

Football

"Abate is an absolute expert on the Ethiopian game and he's really able to make the most of the resources at his disposal."

Ethiopia national football team world rankings

As of 2022, they are ranked at 137. Their best-ever ranking was 85, and their worst ranking ever was 155.

Ethiopia national football team trophies

They won the AFCON back in 1962. They were runners up when Sudan won it back in 1957. Other trophies in their cabinet include the CECAFA senior challenge cup, which they have won four times. They have won it in 2005, 2004, 2001 and 1987.

Ethiopia national football team nickname

Their nickname is the Walias or Wallia Ibex. The nickname comes from the endangered species of the ibex family.

Ethiopia national football team Instagram

They do not have an official Instagram account yet.

Ethiopia national football team jerseys

They have three jerseys that FIFA approves. The jerseys are mainly their national colours. Their first jersey is a green shirt, yellow shorts and red socks. The second jersey comes with a yellow shirt, green shorts and yellow socks. Their third colour is an all red jersey from top to bottom. The jerseys have their national colour running through them.

Gambia national football team squad, coach, world rankings, AFCON, nickname

Football

Ethiopia national football team table

They currently sit last in group A of AFCON. They face opponents such as Cameroon, Burkina Faso and Cape Verde. Cameroon sits on top of the table. Ethiopia lost their first two matches where they lost to 1 nil to Cape Verde and 4-1 to Cameroon, who are having a perfect start. They face Burkina Faso next and hope to change their story.

Ethiopia national football team results

They have faced Cape Verde and Cameroon so far at the AFCON. Unfortunately, they have lost both matches. Cameroon beat them 4-1 while Cape Verde beat them 1 nil. They, however, had a red card in the Cape Verde game. They aim at redeeming themselves in the Burkina Faso game on January 17th.

It is inarguable that the Ethiopian national football team is one of the best in East Africa and prides itself in being the only one with the AFCON trophy. They are also the only country from East Africa in the AFCON in 2022. They hope to bring the lost glory back to their homeland with their great squad.

Guinea-Bissau national football team, players, coach, world rankings, AFCON, and nickname

Football

Sportsbrief.com also reported how the Ivorian surprised many when he took on the goalkeeping gloves in their match against Sierra Leone in the 2022 AFCON tournament.