Following São Tomé and Príncipe’s 1-0 defeat to Ethiopia and their elimination from the AFCON 2027 qualifiers with a 4-0 aggregate loss, head coach Ricardo Monsanto shared his thoughts in the post-match press conference.
“My stay in Ethiopia has been very enjoyable and the people here are truly welcoming,” he said. “I will always carry Ethiopia in my heart.”
The Portuguese coach also praised the quality of the Ethiopian squad, highlighting several attacking players. “Ethiopia have very strong and talented players. I was particularly impressed by Mesfin Tafesse, Abel Yalew and Chernet Gugsa. They have the ability to play in Portugal and other top European leagues.”
Reflecting on his team’s performance across both legs, Monsanto pointed to inexperience and lack of finishing as key factors behind their elimination. “In both matches in Morocco and Ethiopia our team showed good movement, but our lack of experience and difficulty in converting chances prevented us from achieving the result we wanted.”
