Ethiopia became the 12th and final team to reach the second round of African qualifying for the 2014 World Cup after beating Somalia 5-0 in the second leg of their first-round match on Wednesday.
The win gave Ethiopia a 5-0 aggregate win after a 0-0 draw in the first leg.
Striker Omod Okwury opened the scoring in the fifth minute, although Ethiopia did not score again until the 62nd minute, when Shimeles Bekele netted twice in three minutes. Getaneh Kebede also scored a brace — in the 87th and 90th minutes — to eventually take the hosts through comfortably.
Ethiopia join 11 more of Africa’s lowest-ranked teams alongside the continent’s top 28 teams in the main group stage.
Five teams will qualify from Africa for soccer’s showpiece.
Somalia had gained credit for holding Ethiopia to a goalless draw in neutral Djibouti in the first leg, but the visitors were soon behind in Addis Ababa when Okwury broke clear to score.
Ethiopia bungled a host of chances to increase their lead, before Bekele finally added a second from close range and then lobbed Somalia goalkeeper Qalid Ali Mursal soon after to send the hosts clear.
Somalia have earned admiration just for fielding a team. Chronic war, unrest and lawlessness have prevented the Somalia national team from playing home games in Mogadishu since the mid-1980s.
According to the FIFA Web site, the team known as the Ocean Stars has only two players with international experience.
The second round of qualifying matches begin in June next year.
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