Eritrea's last competitive match had been in September 2019 when they lost to Namibia in a qualifier for the 2022 World Cup

Eritrea have reached the main group stage of the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifying following a 19-year absence.

They beat Eswatini 4-1 on aggregate in the preliminary round ahead of next year's tournament in East Africa.

Forward Ali Sulieman, who plays for Kahrabaa Ismaila in the Egyptian top flight, was the hero with three goals across the two legs.

Without a stadium approved for international football, the Red Sea Camels were forced to play their home fixture in Morocco last Wednesday, winning 2-0 thanks to goals from Sulieman and fellow forward Siem Eyob-Abraha, who plays for Sheffield United in England's second tier and is a former Manchester United youth player.

They followed that up with a 2-1 victory in Eswatini, with the home side only grabbing their consolation in the 96th minute.

Ranked 184th in the world by FIFA, with only four African nations below them, Eritrea have played just a handful of games over the last six years, and last played an Afcon qualifier in September 2007, ironically against Eswatini.

Burundi, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Somalia and South Sudan are the other five nations to reach qualification's group stage, which will begin in September.

Afcon 2027, which will be held in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, will be the first to be staged by three co-hosts.

Eritrea's long absence from international football

Since gaining independence from Ethiopia in 1993, Eritrea have never qualified for Afcon.

They came close in their campaign for the 2008 edition, finishing second in their group, four points behind Angola but clear of Kenya and Eswatini.

Since then, they have either not entered qualification or withdrawn without playing a game, often causing the organisers of the Confederation of African Football (Caf) a headache after including the East Africans in the draw.

Following a friendly against Sudan in January 2020, the men's senior team did not play another match until a friendly double-header against Niger in May last year.

They had been scheduled to play bitter rivals Ethiopia in qualifiers for the African Nations Championship in November 2024, but pulled out at the last minute.

It is believed that a major reason for the constant withdrawals has been that the country fears domestic-based players will abscond and defect once they travel abroad, as happened in 2019 when a team competed in a regional tournament in Uganda.

A one-party state with a highly militarised society, Eritrea has been plagued by repression at home and tense relations with its neighbours since independence. It fought a two-year war with Ethiopia between 1998 and 2000.

But having appointed former Egypt defender Hesham Yakan, who played for his country at the 1990 World Cup in Italy, the Red Sea Camels have returned to the international fold, selecting a squad which includes both homegrown and diaspora players.

The date of the group stage draw has yet to be announced by CAF.

Afcon 2027 preliminary qualifying round results (all scores aggregates over two legs)

Djibouti 1-4 South Sudan

Chad 0-8 Burundi

Somalia 0-0 Mauritius (4-2 pens)

Seychelles 1-2 Lesotho

Eritrea 4-1 Eswatini

Sao Tome and Principe 0-4 Ethiopia

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Eritrea qualifies for Afcon after 19 years

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