The final round of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2017 qualifiers will take place this weekend. The Ethiopian national team will host Seychelles in Group J at Hawassa Stadium.
The Walias travelled early to commence their preparations at the newly built stadium. The Walias have included center back Walid Atta who plays his club football with Ostersunds FK. Bidvest forward Getaneh Kebede and Egyptian premier league side PetroJet FC midfielder Shimelis Bekele are also included in the squad
In the last match against Lesotho newly assigned Ethiopian national team coach Gebremedhin Haile managed to secure all three points after defeating the host team 2-1. This match will be the second for coach Gebremedhin.
Group J is one of the 13 groups to decide the teams which qualify for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations finals tournament, which will be held in Gabon. The group consists of four teams: Algeria, Ethiopia, Lesotho, and Seychelles.
The teams play against each other on home-and-away basis in a round-robin format, beginning from June 2015. All the qualifiers will come to a close on Sunday September 4.
The Ethiopian national team emerged champions in January 1962, runners-up in 1957, third Place in1959 and fourth place twice in 1963 and 1968.
The Ethiopian national football team had 10 appearances in the African Cup finals since their first in 1957. The record tells that the country had 27 participations in the qualifications since their first African Cup appearance in 1957
The Walias are placed second with eight points while Seychelles sit third with four points followed by Lesotho with three. In the other Group J remaining matche, top placed Algeria will entertain bottom placed Lesotho on the same day.
