The Eritrean national team withdrew from the 2026 World Cup qualifying for an unusual reason

The Eritrean national football team has withdrawn from the 2026 World Cup qualifiers for an unusual reason.

According to The Guardian, the local Ministry of Sports and Culture has concerns that after away matches, the team’s players may not return to their homeland.

According to the British tabloid, the players prepared for the first two qualifying games for three months, but at the very last moment they were told that they would not participate in the tournament.

The source writes that the team players can simply run away and ask for political asylum.

At the same time, the representatives of the National Football Federation of Eritrea tried to convince the Ministry of Sports and Culture to release the team to participate in the tournament, but they were refused.

Eritrea is scheduled to play its first qualifying match against Morocco on November 16. This game will definitely not take place.

Interestingly, the Eritrean national team has not taken part in international matches since 2020 and is not included in the FIFA rankings.