Ethiopia Beats Somalia, Advances In World Cup Qualifiers

Posted November 16th, 2011 at 3:10 pm (UTC-5)
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Ethiopia's football team has defeated Somalia 5-0 in Addis Ababa, becoming the 12th and final team to reach the second round of Africa qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

The teams had played a scoreless draw in Djibouti on Saturday, but in Wednesday's match Omod Okwury scored in the fifth minute to give Ethiopia the only goal it would need. The Ethiopians added four goals in the second half.

Somalia has earned admiration just for fielding a team. Chronic war, unrest, and lawlessness have prevented the Somali national team from playing home games in Mogadishu since the mid-1980s.

According to the FIFA website, the team known as the Ocean Stars, has only two players with international experience.

Eventually, five African teams will qualify for the next World Cup, to be hosted by Brazil. The second round of qualifying for the continent kicks off next June.