– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
Follow @Koiki_Sport Follow @ALOST_Official
WASHINGTON — In stark contrast with the goings-on at the capitol building not too far away, D.C. United continued its recent tradition of extending a friendly hand to its international brethren on Saturday evening.
The Black-and-Red hosted the Ethiopian Men’s National Soccer Team during the former’s break from Major League Soccer action as a number of the other teams in the league compete in the third-annual Leagues Cup competition. The friendly is the second annual edition of the Ethiopia Soccer Legacy Match after D.C. United hosted Ethiopian Premier League sides Coffee Sport Club and St. George FC at Audi Field last year, continuing the relationship between the Ethiopia Football Federation and D.C. United.
Ethiopia’s football team, known as the Walia Ibex, is currently competing in the African soccer federation (CAF) of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. In their most recent qualifier, it beat Djibouti 6-1 on March 24 at Ben M’Hamed El Abdi Stadium in Morocco. Bereket Desta and Abubeker Nassir each scored a hat trick in the match. The team currently sits in fourth place of their six-team group, with the top team in each of the groups qualifying for the World Cup and the top four second-place teams competing in a playoff to earn entry into the tournament. Ethiopia’s next World Cup qualifier will be against the group leader, Egypt, on Septemter 1.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Saturday evening’s game, with photos taken by DC-area photographer Terry Mayo Jr. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page. Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There are 27 pictures in total.
Follow @Koiki_Sport Follow @ALOST_Official
