Ethiopia’s U17 national team advanced to the knockout stage of the CECAFA U17 tournament after drawing 1-1 with Uganda on Wednesday, October 14, 2026.
The team opened its campaign with a 3-0 victory over Burundi before securing qualification for the next round as the second-best team in the group.
Following the match, head coach Benjamin Ziemer acknowledged Uganda’s quality while expressing concerns about the tournament schedule, citing the limited recovery time between matches.
“The match was extremely tactical, and we needed to make a decision because we had less rest. We had 46 hours of rest, and this was a major factor for us,” he told reporters.
Ziemer added that Ethiopia had to adapt their approach to the challenge posed by their opponents.
“We knew we needed to play differently,” he said.
The Ethiopian coach also praised his Ugandan counterpart, Laryea Kingston, describing him as an astute tactician and highlighting the progress Uganda has made in their football development project.
“He is a very astute coach and a very tactical coach. That team is very good. I think they’re ten years ahead of us in their football project. We had to respect their ability,” Ziemer said.
Despite that statement, the coach stated that Ethiopians are not inferior to Ugandans. He explained that as a country of 130 million people and world-class in long-distance running, Ethiopia boasts quality players.
