Ethiopia and Senegal will clash at the Bahir Dar International Stadium on Tuesday, both teams looking to recover from disappointing starts in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers and aiming for their first win in Group J. This matchup marks the first encounter between the two nations in nearly three decades, with Senegal having previously triumphed 3-0 in a similar qualifying match back in June 1997, thanks to two goals from Souleymane Sane and a third from Omar Traore. Ethiopia experienced frustration in their opening qualifier on Thursday, suffering a 1-0 loss to Sudan, conceding the decisive goal just four minutes before the final whistle. The match remained scoreless at halftime until Mohamed Eisa scored in the 86th minute, granting Sudan a crucial victory. Ethiopia secured their place in these qualifiers after a strong preliminary round, defeating Sao Tome and Principe with a 4-0 aggregate score. They won the first leg 3-0 on March 27 and followed it up with a 1-0 victory in the return match at the Dire Dawa International Stadium. After failing to qualify for the 2023 and 2025 tournaments, coach Yohannes Sahle’s squad is eager to make their first AFCON appearance since 2021, where they ended up at the bottom of Group A with just one point from three matches. As Ethiopia aims to recover and earn points in the qualifiers, they face the challenge of a Senegalese side that has dominated their previous meetings, winning all three encounters and scoring ten goals while conceding only two since a friendly win in November 1963. Senegal, stripped of their 2025 AFCON title by the Confederation of African Football and awarded to Morocco, began their 2027 qualifiers with a frustrating 1-1 draw against Mozambique. This match marked the debut of Patrick Vieira as the national team's head coach.