Historic day for Eritrea: Return to AFCON qualifiers and first win after 19 years

Eritrea is back on the international stage!

After a 19-year absence from either Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, this East African country returned to the spotlight in style, beating Eswatini 2-0 in the first leg of the preliminary phase of the 2027 AFCON qualifiers.

Eritrea became independent in 1993, but joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) only in 1998. During the following decade, the popular Red Sea Camels participated in every edition of the AFCON qualifiers, but never secured their place in the tournament.

However, given the country's massive internal problems, the national team faced a serious issue, as their players often refused to return to Eritrea after away games, seeking asylum abroad.

The fact that they were forced to play home matches in foreign countries due to inadequate conditions did not improve Eritrea's situation.

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On the contrary, in order to prevent this exodus, the national team began withdrawing from the continental tournament qualifiers.

Consequently, Eritrea missed nine consecutive Africa Cups of Nations before making a grand return with yesterday's win over Eswatini on neutral ground in Morocco. At the same time, that was their first victory in competitive games since December 2019, when they beat Harambee Stars 4-1 in the CECAFA Championship.

Heroes of the Red Sea Camels' triumph were two second-half substitutes, Siem Eyob, who broke the deadlock in the 81st minute, and Sulieman Ibrahim, who doubled the lead and redeemed himself for missing a penalty kick earlier in the game.

The second leg is scheduled for next Tuesday in Eswatini (18.00). The winner of this clash will find its place in the main stage of the qualifiers and participate in the group stage draw alongside all the giants of African football.

Welcome back, Eritrea! Good to see you!