The Ethiopian national football team has completed its 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign. The two-year journey ended this week as the group stage matches across Africa came to a close with Ethiopia unable to advance to the next round.
After being confirmed out of contention the Walias played their last two fixtures against Guinea Bissau and Burkina Faso. They won one match and lost the other finishing fifth in their group with nine points.
On October 8 Ethiopia defeated Guinea Bissau 1–0 in Kigali through a goal from Ramkel James. In their final match held last night in Ouagadougou they lost 3–1 to Burkina Faso. The Walias started well in the first half but after the break Kabore came on to score a hat trick for the hosts. Ethiopia’s only goal came from substitute Binyam Ayten who netted his first international goal.
The campaign started under coach Gebremedhin Haile and ended under Mesay Teferi. It showed how far the national team has fallen behind other African sides. The team was also forced to play all five of its home matches abroad because it did not have a CAF approved stadium. This situation affected both performance and finances.
Since the 2022 CHAN tournament the national team has not reached any major finals. Until a new qualification calendar is announced Ethiopia will not play any competitive matches in the upcoming international window.
In the final group standings Egypt finished first with 26 points to secure direct qualification for the 2026 World Cup. Burkina Faso finished second and will wait for results from other groups to see if it can reach the playoffs.
