MEKNES, Morocco, March 25 (Reuters) - Eritrea marked their return to international football with a shock 2-0 win over Eswatini at the start of the qualifiers for the next Africa Cup of Nations on Wednesday.
The Red Sea state has not participated in any internationals since a friendly loss to Sudan in January 2020, and this was their first Cup of Nations outing in 19 years.
The two countries are playing a two-legged preliminary round knockout tie to determine who advances to the group qualifiers for the 2027 finals, to be co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.
Eritrea netted two late goals, the first scrambled in from a corner in the 83rd minute and the second scored on the stroke of full time by Egyptian-based striker Ali Sulieman.
They fielded a team with several players from clubs in Australia, Germany, Norway, and Sweden, and were coached by former Egyptian international Hesham Yakan, appointed only a fortnight ago.
The match was hosted in Morocco because Eritrea does not have a stadium that meets the Confederation of African Football’s criteria for hosting international matches.
The second leg is in Eswatini on Tuesday.
Eritrea has been ruled by President Isaias Afwerki since gaining independence in 1993, and human rights groups consistently describe his rule as highly repressive.
Players and other team members defected after matches or tournaments in Angola in 2007, Kenya in 2009, Tanzania in 2011, Uganda in 2012, Botswana in 2015, following a World Cup qualifier, and Uganda again in 2019. It is estimated some 80 footballers have defected while playing for the national team abroad and were then unable to pursue sustained professional careers in exile.
Eritrea has not allowed teams to travel outside the country since members of its under-20 side fled to Uganda in 2019 but has now had a change of heart.
The bottom 12 African teams in the FIFA rankings are competing in six knockout round ties over the next five days to get the 2027 qualifiers underway.
The winners will advance to the group stage, along with Africa’s 42 top-ranked teams, to be divided into 12 groups of four teams each. Those qualifiers kick off in September.
The top two in each group then qualify for the finals, except in those groups where already-qualified co-hosts Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda are drawn to play.
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; editing by Pritha Sarkar)
