Eritrea set for Afcon return after six years, to face Eswatini in March | OneFootball

According to L'Équipe, Eritrea are set to return to international football in March, entering the preliminary round of qualifying for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations. The national team have not played abroad since 2019.

Tuesday's draw paired Eritrea with Eswatini in a two-legged tie in March. It will be their first international since a 1-0 friendly defeat to Sudan on 25 January 2020, aside from a friendly tournament they hosted last May.

Eritrea has been led by president Isaias Afwerki since independence from Ethiopia in 1993, under a regime described as highly repressive by human rights organisations. To deter player defections, the country skipped recent World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaigns.

Around 80 players are estimated to have defected while representing the national side overseas, with none continuing their football careers in exile.

After members of the under-20 squad fled in Uganda in 2019, Eritrea stopped its teams from travelling, but now appears to have reversed that stance. The country had entered the last Afcon qualifiers, then withdrew. The Eswatini fixtures are scheduled for 25 and 31 March.

Source: L'Équipe