World Cup
Eritrea national team withdraws from 2026 World Cup qualifiers
The Eritrea national football team has withdrawn from the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. The decision was taken by the Eritrean Ministry of Sports due to concerns that national team players would not return to the country after away matches.
Since 2009, approximately 60 Eritrean national team players have failed to return to the country after away matches and have sought political asylum abroad from Eritrea’s dictatorial regime.
For this reason, the Eritrean national team has not played a single match since 2020, when it played a friendly match against Sudan. The team has not played an official match since September 2019 and has been removed from the FIFA rankings.
The Eritrean national team has been preparing for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers for the last three months, but in October, the country’s authorities decided to withdraw the team.
Source: Sport UA
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