Ethiopia will look to bounce back from their opening defeat at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations when they face hosts Cameroon at the Stade Omnisport on Thursday.
Kick-off in Yaoundé is scheduled for 13h00 GMT.
The Walia Ibex opened their AFCON campaign with a brave but ultimately fruitless performance, as they succumbed 1-0 at the hands of Cape Verde in the opening match last Sunday night.
The East Africans had their defender Yared Bayeh sent off following a VAR review just 12 minutes in for a foul on Cape Verde striker Tavares.
Ethiopia cannot afford another loss if they are to truly stay in the race for last 16 qualification, and coach Wubetu Abate will hope to see his side show more composure and precision in the final third of the field.
Coach Abate was visible distraught following the outcome of the clash and urged his charges to remain positive as they set their sights on the Indomitable Lions.
“We lacked experience against a good Cape Verdean team. A defeat is true but we will learn lessons for our next matches. We played almost the entire game in a numerical inferiority and that did not help us physically,” said coach Abate.
To that end, the likes of Remdan Yusef, Getaneh Kebede, Mujib Kassim, Firew Solomon and Gatoch Panom will need to up their performance level and take the game to their opponent’s defence.
Cameroon come into the match as the Group A leaders, having defeated Burkina Faso 2-1 on Sunday thanks to captain Vincent Aboubakar’s brace.
The result means the Indomitable Lions are within touching distance of a place in the knockout rounds of the AFCON as they set their way for a possible sixth continental title.
Yet coach António Conceição da Silva Oliveira will be urging his team not to get too far ahead of themselves and take the threat offered by Ethiopia seriously.
In head-to-head terms, Ethiopia and Cameroon have met in two previous matches. The Indomitable Lions have claimed one win while the other game-that was played in 2016- ending in a draw.
