Not even the seventh clash against Ethiopia brought Tanzania the victory. After 90 minutes of physical but not too creative football with few chances, the Taifa Stars and Walia Ibex drew 0-0. The home team was closer to breaking the deadlock, having a superb chance two minutes before the end through Mudathir Yahya. The clash of DR Congo and Guinea on Friday completes the first round in Group H.𝐅𝐔𝐋𝐋 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄: #AFCONQ2025Tanzania 🇹🇿 0️⃣➖ 0️⃣ 🇪🇹 Ethiopia pic.twitter.com/eXqulLkxj3— Willy Sekwa Duke (@ChibuDuke) September 4, 2024 Tanzania were keen on opening the 2025 African Cup of Nations qualifiers with a triumph over arguably the weakest team in Group H – Ethiopia. The Taifa Stars have qualified for the AFCON three times so far (1980, 2019, 2023) but have never made two consecutive appearances in the continental tournament.On the other hand, Ethiopia were one of the most successful African teams in the 1950s, with second and third place (1957 and 1959, respectively) and a title – their only so far – in 1962. However, since 1982, the Walia Ibex qualified only twice – in 2013 and 2021. Their last clash took place back in 2015 and, interestingly, Tanzania have never triumphed against today’s rivals. Still, the home team was the favourite today.Both teams’ strategies were evident from the beginning. Tanzania opted for a possession game, while Ethiopia relied on direct football, finding the most straightforward solutions to get to the opponents’ box as quickly as possible. Despite both sides’ visible desire and motivation, numerous passing mistakes marked the initial part of the game.Firat pinpoints Zimbabwe’s dangerman ahead of Harambee Stars’ AFCON qualifierDuring the first 25 minutes, we saw several attempts, but they all were long-distance shots off-target. The home team had the first so-so opportunity 29 minutes into the game after Cement Mzize’s header, which went far over the crossbar. Ethiopia’s Bereket Wolde was booked for a careless tackle a minute later.Those two situations were by far the most exciting moments in the first half. Ethiopia’s organized playing style and a clear idea of what rivals’ weaknesses they wanted to exploit seemed to have confused the Taifa Stars, who were nowhere near the opening goal. After all, the teams had seven attempts combined, but none of those was near the target – a crystal clear indicator of what we watched in the first 45 minutes.Both managers mixed things up at the break. The home team’s boss, Hemed Suleiman, subbed Nickson Kibabage in for Pascal Msindo, while Ethiopia coach, Gebremedhin Haile, made a double sub – Adis Gebru and Biniam Fikre replaced Chernet Gugsa and Binyam Belay.##NAJAVA_MECA_8316323##The match continued at the same pace after the break as well. Tanzania made nothing concrete except for a couple of corner kicks, whereas the Walia Ibex concentrated on defence more than before the break. Most importantly, 20 minutes into the second half, neither team made an attempt… Since the first sub brought nothing to the Taifa Stars, Suleiman made two more – Mudathir Yahya and Junior Waziri entered for Himid Mao Mkami and Edwin Balua.Seventeen minutes to the end, Tanzania created their most meaningful attack. Feisal Salum perfectly headed the ball to Mzize inside the area, but his shot was blocked – by his teammate Waziri?! Only a minute later, we finally witnessed the first attempt on target – Novatus Miroshi’s free kick from more than 30 meters was an easy prey for the Ethiopian keeper Said Habtamu. In the 88th minute, Yahya unleashed a nice effort from the edge of the box – slightly wide off the right post.Despite Tanzania’s better energy in the dying minutes, the hosts still couldn’t break the deadlock, and the game ended in a goalless draw. This point will undoubtedly be more valuable for Ethiopia, which managed to remain undefeated in the away match. The duel of the remaining teams in Group H, DR Congo and Guinea, will complete the first round of the AFCON qualifiers in this group on Friday (7 pm).AFCON 2025 – QUALIFIERSWednesdaySudan – Niger 1-0 (0-0)/Eisa A. 51/Comoros – Gambia 1-1 (1-1)/M’Changama 37 – Barrow 45+1/Tanzania – Ethiopia 0-0Libya – Rwanda 1-1 (1-0)/Al Dhawi 16 – Nshuti 47/
