2026 World Cup (Q): Eritrea announces its withdrawal
Engaged in the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, Eritrea will not participate in the qualifying phase of the competition, announced the Football Federation of this country.
Eritrea will not play in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in the Africa zone which open in a few days. Housed in Group F, alongside Morocco, Zambia, Tanzania, Niger and Congo, the Red Sea Camels have decided not to take part in these qualifying phases on the continent.
The reasons for this withdrawal have not been revealed, but this East African country has not played a single official match since its defeat against Namibia (0-2) during the World Cup qualifiers. 2022, September 10, 2019. The Eritreans also did not participate in the CAN 2023 qualifiers.
With this withdrawal from the Red Sea Camels, Group E becomes lighter with Morocco as the only favorite. As a reminder, nine groups from six teams will compete in these qualifying phases in Africa. The winners of each group will automatically qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
The four best runners-up will compete in a continental play-off to determine a winner. This will take part in a second and final play-off in which six teams from other Confederations will take part. The top two of these six teams will qualify for the World Cup and complete the field of 48 teams.