Ethiopia will be welcomed to the
continental fold after a lengthy
absence with a fixture against
defending champions, Zambia. The
Walya Antelopes surprised
everyone - perhaps including themselves - by securing a berth
at the 2013 Afcon at the expense
of neighbours Sudan. The east African nation failed to
convince the regional fanatics of
their abilities after a drab
performance during the regional
Cecafa tournament, held in
November 2012, led to a quarter- final exit. But the impressive results
registered in the latest build-up
games, especially the 2-1 win
over Tanzania, dictate more
promise. The talent is almost all home
based, from the club sides
Dedebit, Defence and Saint
George. Just one professional
plays club football outside Ethiopia
- star striker Saladin Said, who features in the Egyptian Premier
League. The opening fixture will be crucial
for both sides, and Zambia, who
have vowed to defend their title
at all costs, are seeking no less
than three points. Head coach Sewnet Bishaw, who
has been in charge since
November 2011, believes Ethiopia's
relative anonymity can help them
spring a surprise in a group that
contains holders Zambia, as well as Nigeria and Burkina Faso. The players, having become
national heroes through
qualifying, do not want their
journey to end in the group
stage. "We know Nigeria and Zambia are
strong opponents, but they
should not forget we qualified by
beating Sudan, who played at the
2012 Cup of Nations," said 27-
year-old striker Adane Girma at a press conference. "In the past, we had problems in
beating opponents in away
matches. Now this is history.
Psychologically we have shown
encouraging improvements, and
as a result we also have a chance to qualify for the 2014 World Cup
in Brazil." Much of the weight of
expectation will lie squarely on
the shoulders of Girma and
attacker Fuad Ibrahim. Zambia boss Herve Renard has
chosen to work with a majority of
the squad that clinched the Afcon
title in Equatorial Guinea and
Gabon last year. Captain
Christopher Katongo, TP Mazembe's Stopilla Sunzu and
English-based Emmanuel Mayuka
are the players to watch in this
match. DID YOU KNOW? Herve Renard has been Zambia's head coach during two separate spells, between
2008-2010 and from October
2011 until now. Zambia gained entrance to
the 2013 African Cup of
Nations after winning a
breath-taking penalty
shootout 9-8 in Kampala
against Uganda. Zambia is ranked 34th in the
world by Fifa compared to
Ethiopia's 110th place ranking. Besides the Afcon triumph,
the Chipolopolo have emerged
runners-up on two occasions:
1974 & 1994. Ethiopia have also won the Afcon once, in 1962 when
they hosted it. Sewnet Bishaw's side have
qualified for the Afcon on nine
occasions, the most from an
east African side. Katongo (pictured, right) has
a great deal of playing
experience in South Africa for
his former club Jomo Cosmos
and will be in familiar
surroundings during the 2013 campaign. Katongo has also played in
Germany, Denmark and
Greece and scored three vital
goals in the 2012 Afcon
campaign, including a priceless
winner against Ghana in the semi-finals.

Zambia: 16-Kennedy Mweene; 6-Davies Nkausu, 5-Hichani
Himoonde, 13-Stopilla Sunzu, 4-
Joseph Musonda; 3-Chisamba
Lungu, 8-Isaac Chansa, 19-
Nathan Sinkala, 17-Rainford
Kalaba, 11-Chris Katongo; 9- Collins Mbesuma Ethiopia: 22-Jemal Tassew; 4- Abebaw Butako, 5-Aynalem Hailu,
12-Biyadglign Eliase, 17-Seyum
Tesfaye; 8-Asrat Megersa, 14-
Minyahile Teshome, 18-Shimelese
Bekele, 19-Adane Girma; 9-
Getaneh Kebede, 7-Saladin Seid Referee:Castane Otogo (Gabon)